Protecting Sensitive Data Under European Law: An Advanced Training Course
1Summary
Health records, banking details, biometric data – once one of them leaks, there's no putting it back. Sensitive personal data doesn't just need somewhere safe to sit; it needs governance from the moment it's collected to the day it's deleted, and that governance is exactly what European law expects organisations to prove.
This course by the Arab British Fellowship Training Academy gives data protection officers, IT teams and compliance staff a working playbook for managing sensitive data under GDPR and the NIS Directive – from building the right access controls and training programmes to responding when a breach happens and reporting it the way European regulators require.
2Objectives and target group
Who Should Attend?
- Data protection officers and compliance staff in public and private organisations.
- IT professionals and cybersecurity specialists handling sensitive data.
- Professionals in healthcare, finance and other sectors that routinely process sensitive information.
- Legal consultants specialising in data protection, and academics interested in the field.
Course Objectives:
By the end of the course, participants will be able to:
- Apply GDPR and NIS Directive requirements to the handling of sensitive data.
- Design access controls, training programmes and internal policies that keep sensitive data protected by default.
- Respond to data breaches and meet EU reporting obligations when they occur.
- Run ongoing risk assessments and adjust data protection practices as threats evolve.
3Course Content
- Module 1: What Makes Data "Sensitive" – and Why It Matters
- Defining sensitive data and the security risks specific to handling it.
- The legal and social consequences of a data breach.
- Core principles: transparency in collection and use, and protection by design and by default.
- Module 2: The GDPR Rulebook for Sensitive Data
- Overview of GDPR and the NIS Directive, and other relevant European data protection laws.
- Applying the principle of lawfulness when collecting sensitive data.
- Data minimisation, limited storage duration, and building security into data management.
- Module 3: Governance in Practice: DPOs, Strategy and Access Control
- The Data Protection Officer's responsibilities in monitoring compliance, training staff and reporting to senior management.
- Developing data protection policies and using encryption to secure data at rest and in transit.
- Managing who can access sensitive data, including permissions and multi-factor authentication.
- Module 4: Embedding Compliance Day to Day
- Running internal audits to check compliance with European standards.
- Preparing emergency response plans for potential data breaches.
- Training employees and building ongoing awareness programmes around handling sensitive data.
- Module 5: When a Breach Happens: Response and Reporting
- Identifying security incidents involving sensitive data and cooperating with regulatory authorities.
- Conducting risk assessments to evaluate the potential impact of a breach.
- Preparing incident reports and documenting the response for legal compliance and transparency.
- Module 6: Sensitive Data in Healthcare
- GDPR compliance specifics for collecting and protecting health data, including patient rights.
- Implementing cybersecurity strategies and tools to protect health-related data.
- Continuous monitoring of security threats within healthcare organisations.
- Module 7: Technology, Partnership and the Road Ahead
- Modern technologies for securing sensitive data, including encryption and multi-layered security.
- How blockchain and AI are transforming sensitive data protection.
- Public-private cooperation and preparing for future developments in European data protection law.