Sure Business attends first Channel Island Data Protection Forum

The Channel Island Data Protection Forum highlighted vital movements in the current world of data and lessons on how to keep our personal and stored customer data safe.

The event marks the first time that the forum has been held jointly between the islands. The agenda and speakers thus focused on collaboration as a key theme and the shared issues that we can tackle as sister islands. Representing Sure Business, which operates in both Guernsey and Jersey, this could not have been more relevant.

Two key speakers led the forum: Emma Martins, Data Protection Commissioner at the Office of the Data Protection Authority, and Dave Cartwright, Head of Data Security at Santander. Both unsurprisingly offered up sage advice on how to keep our data safe in an increasingly digital world.

The need for change was a key theme. As cyber criminals become more and more sophisticated, so must data protection organisations. Banding together and working in a cross-jurisdiction manner was thus seen as essential: something Sure Business is aware of when working with clients who operate in both Guernsey and Jersey and beyond.

Emma spoke about ‘learning to love regulation’. Data professionals like myself are aware that data protection regulations are constantly updating, be that through new legislation such as GDPR or a changing political landscape with developments such as Brexit. Emma’s message was one of collaboration: working together to stay abreast of best practice and understanding the changing data market is essential when operating as a data professional in 2022.

Dave’s presentation was focused on incident response, aptly using the metaphor of a pilot and how they might respond when a plane has an issue. Process-driven calmness was the main takeaway and having a proper incident response plan in mind should be an essential part of every. I am pleased to say that Sure Business has several incident response programs that we regularly carry out drills for, to ensure we are prepared for an incident.

It was wonderful to see data professionals from across the islands attend the event and the opportunity to network with likeminded peers was a great privilege. As Sure Business continues to grow, to does our ability to meet the ever-evolving needs of our clients. We work closely with our customers to ensure that the kinds of data breaches outlined at the Forum are minimised and their data is protected in the most secure environment possible.