Last updated: (5th November, 2024).
1. Introduction
Titan Impex needs to gather and use certain information about individuals.
These can include customers, suppliers, business contacts, employees, and other people the organisation has a relationship with or may need to contact.
This policy describes how this personal data must be collected, handled, and stored to meet the company’s data protection and privacy standards — and to comply with the law Data Protection Act 2019.
Definitions
Data Controller- means a natural or legal person, public authority, agency, or other body which, alone or jointly with others, determines the purpose and means of processing of personal data
Data processor - means a natural or legal person, public authority, agency, or other body which processes personal data on behalf of the data controller.
Data Protection Officer- Person appointed by the Data controller to oversee a company's data protection strategy and its implementation to ensure compliance with the Data Compliance Act 2019.
Why this policy exists
This data protection policy ensures Titan Impex;
- Complies with data protection law and follow good practice
- Protects the rights of staff, customers, and partners
- Is open about how it stores and processes individuals’ data
- Protects itself from the risks of a data breach
2. Data protection law
The Data Protection Act 2019 describes how organisations including Titan Impex must collect, handle and store personal information.
These rules apply regardless of whether data is stored electronically, on paper or on other materials.
To comply with the law, personal information must be collected and used fairly, stored safely and not disclosed unlawfully.
The Data Protection Act 2019 is underpinned by 8 important principles. These say that personal data must:
- Be processed fairly and lawfully
- Be obtained only for specific, lawful purposes
- Be adequate, relevant, and not excessive
- Be accurate and kept up to date
- Not be held for any longer than necessary
- Processed in accordance with the rights of data subjects
- Be protected in appropriate ways
- Not transferred outside Kenya unless there is proof of adequate data protection safeguards or consent from the data subject
3. People, risks, and responsibilities
Policy scope
This policy applies to:
- The head office of Titan Impex
- All branches of Titan Impex
- All staff and volunteers of Titan Impex
- All contractors, suppliers and other people working on behalf of Titan Impex.
It applies to all data that the company holds relating to identifiable individuals, even if that information technically falls outside of the Data Protection Act 2019. This can include:
- Names of individuals
- Postal addresses
- Email addresses
- National Identity Numbers
- Telephone numbers
- Plus, any other information relating to individuals
Data protection risks
This policy helps to protect Titan Impex from some very real data security risks, including:
- Breaches of confidentiality. For instance, information being given out inappropriately.
- Breaches of confidentiality. For instance, information being given out inappropriately.
- Failing to offer choice. For instance, all individuals should be free to choose how the company uses data relating to them.
- Reputational damage. For instance, the company could suffer if hackers successfully gained access to sensitive data.
Data protection risks
Everyone who works for or with Titan Impex has some responsibility for ensuring data is collected, stored, and handled appropriately.
Each team that handles personal data must ensure that it is handled and processed in line with this policy and data protection principles and the law.
However, these people have key areas of responsibility:
- The board of directors is ultimately responsible for ensuring that Titan Impex meets its legal obligations.
- The IT Manager, (Also appointed as the Data Protection Officer) is responsible for:
- Keeping the board updated about data protection responsibilities, risks, and issues.
- Advising Employees on the Data Processing laws as defined by the Data Protection Act 2019
- Reviewing all data protection procedures and related policies, in line with an agreed schedule.
- Arranging data protection training and advice for the people covered by this policy.
- Handling data protection questions from staff and anyone else covered by this policy.
- Ensure receipt from the data subject's consent to the processing of their personal data for a specified purpose.
- Dealing with requests from individuals to see the data Titan Impex holds about them (also called ‘subject access requests’).
- Failing to offer choice. For instance, all individuals should be free to choose how the company uses data relating to them.
- Reputational damage. For instance, the company could suffer if hackers successfully gained access to sensitive data.
4. General staff guidelines
- The only people able to access data covered by this policy should be those who need it for their work.
- Data should not be shared informally. When access to confidential information is required, employees can request it from their line managers.
- Titan Impex will provide training to all employees to help them understand their responsibilities when handling data.
- Employees should keep all data secure, by taking sensible precautions and following the guidelines below.
- Strong passwords must be used, and they should never be shared.
- Personal data should not be disclosed to unauthorised people, either within the company or externally.
- Data should be regularly reviewed and updated if it is found to be out of date. If no longer required, it should be deleted and disposed of.
- Employees should request help from their line manager or the data protection officer if they are unsure about any aspect of data protection.
5. Data storage
These rules describe how and where data should be safely stored. Questions about storing data safely can be directed to the IT manager.
When data is stored on paper, it should be kept in a secure place where unauthorised people cannot see it.
These guidelines also apply to data that is usually stored electronically but has been printed out for some reason:
- When not required, the paper or files should be kept in a locked drawer or filing cabinet.
- Employees should make sure paper and printouts are not left where unauthorised people could see them, like on a printer.
- All documents held in physical format should be backed up on the share point, and the access levels should be clearly defined.
- Data printouts should be shredded and disposed of securely when no longer required.
When data is stored electronically, it must be protected from unauthorised access, accidental deletion, and malicious hacking attempts:
- Data should be protected by strong passwords that are changed regularly and never shared between employees.
- If data is stored on removable media (like a CD or DVD), these should be kept locked away securely when not being used.
- Data should only be stored on designated drives and servers and should only be uploaded to an approved cloud computing service.
- Servers containing personal data should be sited in a secure location, away from general office space.
- Data should be backed up frequently. Those backups should be tested regularly, in line with the company’s standard backup procedures.
- Data should never be saved directly to laptops or other mobile devices like tablets or smart phones.
- All servers and computers containing data should be protected by approved security software and a firewall.
6. Data use
Personal data is of no value to Titan Impex unless the business can make use of it. However, it is when personal data is accessed and used that it can be at the greatest risk of loss, corruption, or theft:
- When working with personal data, employees should ensure the screens of their computers are always locked when left unattended.
- Personal data should not be shared informally. It should never be sent by email, as this form of communication is not secure.
- Data must be encrypted before being transferred electronically. The IT manager can explain how to send data to authorised external contacts.
- Personal data should never be transferred outside of Titan Impex.
- Employees should not save copies of personal data to their own computers. Always access and update the central copy of any data.
7. Disclosing data for other reasons
In certain circumstances, the Data Protection Act allows personal data to be disclosed to law enforcement agencies without the informed consent of the data subject.
Under these circumstances, Titan Impex will disclose requested data. However, the data controller will ensure the request is legitimate, seeking assistance from the board and from the company’s legal advisers where necessary.