According to GDPR, each website administrator is held responsible for the data that they actually process. It is, therefore, vital to consider how to protect the server connections in such a way that the data cannot be intercepted by unauthorized individuals, and an administrator does not have to deal with the consequences of such a breach of safety. How can you, a website administrator, protect yourself from being faced with those?

The GDPR ordinance was instroduced on the 25th of May 2018, and it aims at protecting the confidential data of the EU citizens within the ICT systems. Its 32nd article states that it is the duty of an administrator and the entity storing and processing data to provide appropriate security measures in order to make the leaks of user data impossible. To achieve that, they are obliged to pseudonymize and encrypt personal data and constantly ensure the confidentiality, security, and immunity of ICT systems and their operations. The companies that will not meet the aforementioned standards of this regulation may expect to be penalized severely, as fines for this are believed to be very high. Therefore, if your company’s website still does not own an SSL certificate, it is high time you got one! The cheapest OV ssl certificate may be purchased for as little as $24.73 net/year! Check Comodo InstantSSL.

Which websites are expected to follow this regulation? The GDPR is a regulation that does not only challenge large corporations but lower-profile companies as well. What is considered sensitive or confidential data is all the data concerning an identified or identifiable person. An identified person may be each customer of your store who provided you with their delivery address or even an indicidual who placed their name, surname, and e-mail address into your contact form. What is also considered sensitive is all the private correspondence on your website, where people mention their ethnicity, religious and political beliefs, health status, sexuality etc. So, if you are a website administrator, and you store similar data, and a data leak does happen, you are more than likely to be faced with its grave consequences.

The GDPR does not, obviously, specify that SSL certificate is necessary; however, they are the only reliable means of protection against such hazard. By protecting connection, the SSL protocol prevents the data being intercepued by unauthorized individuals and is the adequate measure to counter such a risk. Thus, you are guaranteed that no only are website connections encrypted, but also the electronic mail and the contact forms that are not integrated with your website. Depending on what number and type of data your websites process, you can choose an adequate certificate to suit your needs. If you own a very simple website where you do not store much regular data or process any sensitive data whatsoever, a good solution for you will be to get an Domain Validation SSL certificate. If your website gathers more information, and senstive data does occur, it might be a much better idea to consider an Business/Organization Validation SSL certificate. When you have an online company, a store, a finanacial institution, and you offer services that involve the processing of funds, you should invest in an SSL certificate that provides a higher level of security such as the Extended Validation SSL certificate, or the one with the so-called green bar. You can get one starting $80.85 net/year! Check Comodo PositiveSSL EV.

It seeems that when it comes to protecting personal data from being compromised and intercepted by unintended parties, SSL certification provides some excellent solutions. It is important, however, to choose the security level wisely – taking the type of data you process into consideration. It is because the GDPR ordinance insists that the safety measures taken must appropriate to the level of risk they are expected to counter and the type of personal data we process.