In an era where digital payments dominate everyday transactions — from online shopping and mobile wallets to contactless in-store purchases — the security of cardholder data has never been more critical. The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) stands as the global benchmark for protecting sensitive payment information. Developed by the PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC), it applies to any organization that processes, stores, or transmits credit or debit card data.

1. Exploding Cyber Threats and Data Breaches

Cyberattacks targeting payment systems have surged. Ransomware, phishing, supply-chain exploits, and advanced persistent threats (APTs) are common. Non-compliant businesses face higher breach risks — studies show compliant organizations experience up to 50% fewer incidents. A single breach can expose thousands of card records, leading to massive fraud and identity theft. PCI DSS enforces controls like encryption, access restrictions, and vulnerability management to minimize these risks.

2. Building and Maintaining Customer Trust

Consumers now prioritize security when choosing where to shop. A visible commitment to PCI DSS signals reliability — think “Your card details are safe with us.” In contrast, a breach erodes trust overnight, resulting in lost customers, negative reviews, and long-term reputational damage. Compliant businesses often see higher conversion rates and loyalty because customers feel protected.

3. Avoiding Severe Financial and Legal Penalties

Non-compliance carries heavy costs:

• Fines from card brands (up to $100,000+ per month in severe cases)
• Increased transaction fees
• Liability for fraud losses and breach-related expenses (legal fees, notifications, credit monitoring)
• Potential loss of payment processing privileges

With stricter enforcement under v4.0.1 — including mandatory MFA for admin access, enhanced password policies, anti-phishing measures, and continuous monitoring — regulators and acquirers are less tolerant of lapses.

4. Enabling Secure Digital Innovation

Modern businesses rely on cloud services, APIs, e-commerce platforms, and third-party processors. PCI DSS v4.0.1 introduces flexibility (e.g., customized approaches and targeted risk analysis) while raising the bar on emerging risks like payment page skimming and insecure authentication. Compliance helps organizations innovate safely — adopting new tech without exposing card data.

5. A Foundation for Broader Cybersecurity Maturity

PCI DSS isn’t just about cards — its 12 core requirements (build and maintain secure networks, protect cardholder data, maintain vulnerability management, etc.) strengthen overall security posture. Many organizations use it as a baseline for GDPR, HIPAA, or ISO 27001 alignment.

Bottom Line in 2026

In a world of nonstop digital transactions and sophisticated cybercriminals, PCI DSS compliance protects customers, safeguards revenue, and demonstrates responsibility. It’s no longer a “checkbox” — it’s a strategic imperative for any business handling payments.

If your organization processes card data, assess your current status against v4.0.1 requirements today. Non-compliance risks far outweigh the effort of achieving it.

What challenges have you faced with PCI DSS? Share in the comments — I’d love to discuss real-world tips!

Why PCI DSS Remains Crucial in Today’s World (2026 Perspective) was originally published in Coinmonks on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Last Updated on January 19, 2026 by Narendra Sahoo

GDPR and data retention — is an important aspect of organizations operating with large data processing requirements for their customers and third parties. One key area that organizations face challenges is how their data storage and handling should apply to customers: specifically, how long you’re allowed to store customer data, and why this is one of the areas where organizations get it wrong most often.

GDPR being the standard in the EU for such types of data requires specific handling and enforces penalties and regulatory action as consequences.  GDPR doesn’t just ask whether you can collect data. It asks how long you’re going to keep it, why you’re keeping it, and what you’ll do with it when you’re finished.

And for businesses that get this wrong, saying “we keep it for as long as necessary” will not save you.

GDPR Data retention period: GDPR does not give you a fixed number of days, months, or years for storing personal data, in general, you may keep personal data only for as long as it is necessary for the specific purpose you collected it for.

Two foundational provisions define data retention obligations: Article 5(1)(b) – Purpose Limitation and Article 5(1)(e) – Storage Limitation Principle, supported by Article 6 – Lawful Basis for Processing. Together, they require organizations to determine, justify, document, and enforce a lawful data retention period. GDPR says: don’t keep people’s data longer than you need it.

But many companies do exactly that — they keep data forever, forget about it, or never write down how long they plan to keep it. Regulators check this a lot, and when they find problems, they fine companies heavily.

1⃣ VISTA InfoSec — Storage Limitation Principle & Retention Governance

The storage limitation principle requires that personal data be retained only until purpose of exhaustion occurs, triggered by an end-of-purpose trigger and followed by retention expiry. Retention without justification results in over-retention, indefinite retention (non-compliant).

Effective organizations implement retention governance through a documented retention policy, supported by a retention schedule, retention matrix, retention rationale, and retention justification, all reviewed through a formal retention review cycle.

• About 1 in every 6 fines issued under GDPR’s core rules is specifically about data being kept too long.
• When companies are fined for this, the average fine is around €4 million.
• Across real cases, retention-related fines together cross half a billion euros.

Meaning: Keeping data “just in case” or for posterities sake is not a small mistake — it’s a very expensive one.

Data Controller vs Data Processor: Who Is Responsible for Retention?

GDPR makes a clear distinction between data controllers and data processors, and that distinction matters for data retention.

The data processor does not independently decide on retention periods. Instead, processors must process personal data only on the documented instructions of the controller, including instructions related to retention, deletion, or return of data at the end of processing. GDPR still requires processors to:

• Implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to enforce retention instructions
• Support deletion, anonymization, or return of data when instructed
• Avoid retaining data beyond agreed retention periods
• Flag retention risks where controller instructions are unclear or incomplete

In practice, many compliance failures occur because controllers assume processors will “handle retention,” while processors assume retention decisions are “not their responsibility”. GDPR does not allow this gap.

Controllers must define retention. Processors must enforce it. Both must be able to demonstrate it.

How Long Can You Store Customer Data?

GDPR does not set fixed timelines for how long customer data may be stored. Instead, it requires organizations to make deliberate, documented decisions about retention based on purpose, lawful basis, and necessity, in line with the GDPR key requirements.

A very common question is: how long are we allowed to store customer data?

Under GDPR, there is no single fixed time limit that applies to everyone. Instead, GDPR is built around a principle called the Storage Limitation Principle. The GDPR data storage principle states that personal data must only be kept for as long as it is necessary for the specific purpose it was collected for.

Once that purpose has ended, the data must be deleted or anonymized.

• 9 out of 10 companies fail their first GDPR audit.
• 65% fail specifically on data retention.

The Storage Limitation Principle Explained

The storage limitation principle is closely tied to purpose. GDPR expects organizations to be deliberate and intentional about data retention.

This means you cannot collect data without knowing why you need it, and you cannot keep data without knowing when it should be removed. Holding data “just in case it might be useful later” is not compliant.

Retention periods must be defined in advance, justified, and followed in practice.

2⃣ VISTA InfoSec — Lawful Basis Mapping & Retention Alignment

Retention must be derived through lawful basis mapping and retention aligned to lawful basis. This includes:

• Contractual necessity, driving post-contract retention and limitation period alignment
• Legal obligation, overriding consent considerations
• Legitimate interests, supported by a legitimate interest’s assessment (LIA), a balancing test, a necessity test, and proportionality
• Consent (and its withdrawal implications), requiring reassessment of retention

When lawful basis is not linked to retention, it becomes a common compliance failure that often leads organizations into broader GDPR compliance challenges.

• On average, companies keep data 5 extra years longer than needed.
• Old systems and legacy databases cause 3 out of 4 retention failures in retail and marketing.
• In 70% of cases, the problem is confusion:
  • controllers didn’t give clear instructions
  • processors didn’t enforce deletion

Meaning: This is why so many organizations fail during a GDPR compliance audit, especially when retention schedules are undocumented or inconsistent.

The Three Key Principles Behind Data Retention

Purpose Limitation

Every piece of personal data must have a clear and specific purpose. If you collect customer data for marketing, it must only be used for that marketing purpose. You cannot later decide to keep it indefinitely or repurpose it without a lawful basis.

If there is no clear purpose for holding the data, there is no lawful reason to retain it.

Storage Limitation

Even when there is a valid purpose, GDPR requires that data be kept for the shortest period necessary to fulfil that purpose. This does not mean deleting data immediately, but it does mean thinking carefully about what is reasonable.

Keeping data for convenience rather than necessity is one of the most common GDPR mistakes.

Justification and Documentation

Organizations must be able to explain why they are holding personal data and for how long. These decisions must be documented, usually in a data retention policy.

If you cannot explain your retention periods clearly, you will struggle to justify them to a regulator.

Factors Influencing Retention: What Determines How Long You Can Keep Data?

There is no one-size-fits-all answer, but several consistent factors influence retention periods.

Purpose of Collection

The reason you collected the data in the first place is the starting point for determining retention.

For example, marketing data typically requires much shorter retention periods than financial or contractual data. Once a marketing campaign has ended and any follow-up activity is complete, there is often no justification for keeping the data.

Legal Obligations

In many cases, retention periods are driven by other laws rather than GDPR itself. Accounting, tax, and employment laws often require data to be retained for a defined number of years.

A common example is financial records, which are often kept for six or seven years to meet legal and regulatory requirements. In these cases, consent is not required because the organization is complying with a legal obligation.

Industry Standards

Different industries have different expectations and risks. Healthcare, finance, education, charities, and sports organizations all have sector-specific practices that influence how long data is kept.

What is reasonable in one industry may be excessive or unjustifiable in another, so industry context matters.

Customer Rights and Disputes

Sometimes data needs to be retained longer to allow organizations to respond to complaints, handle subject to access requests, or defend legal claims. This can be a legitimate reason for extended retention, but it must still be clearly defined and documented.

Practical Steps to Stay Compliant

Getting data retention right is mainly about good decision-making and good processes.

Define Your Purposes Clearly

For each category of personal data, clearly state why you are collecting it and what it is used for. If you cannot clearly explain the purpose, you should question whether the data is needed at all.

Set Clear Retention Periods

Retention periods should be specific and measurable. Avoid vague language and instead define clear timeframes, such as months or years, for each data category.

Document Your Decisions

Create a formal data retention policy that records your decisions, including the reasoning behind them. This policy should be reviewed and updated regularly to reflect changes in law or business practices.

Implement Deletion and Anonymization Processes

Retention does not end until the data is removed. Organizations should have systems and processes in place to delete or anonymize data once the retention period expires. Manual processes that rely on memory or good intentions are rarely effective.

3⃣ VISTA InfoSec — Privacy Policy Transparency Requirements

GDPR mandates transparency through a compliant privacy notice that meets the transparency obligation. This includes:

• Retention disclosure
• Retention explanation
• Specific timeframes
• End-of-retention explanation
• Deletion statement
• Backup handling disclosure

All content must meet the plain language requirement, pass an accessibility test, and be understandable as child-comprehensible language. Failure results in red flags in privacy policies, an outdated privacy notice, and policy drift.

GDPR done right

GDPR data retention is not about deleting data as quickly as possible. It is about keeping the right data, for the right reasons, for the right amount of time.

When organizations can clearly explain why they have personal data, how long they keep it, and what happens when that time ends, they are not only compliant with GDPR but also demonstrating trust and accountability.

GDPR As a Mindset, Not Just a Rulebook

One thing I always say is that GDPR done right isn’t about avoiding fines. It’s about the mindset.

If you get the mindset right, the rules become much simpler.

And data retention is a perfect example of this. Because retention is really just a question of responsibility: do you know why you’re holding people’s data, and have you thought about when it should stop?

You Must Be Specific About Retention

It’s now well established in law that you cannot simply say:

“We retain your data for as long as necessary.”

That’s no longer acceptable.

You must be precise. You must be able to say:

• what data you’re holding
• how long you’re holding it
• and why that period exists

This applies whether you’re a global organization or a one-person business.

Practical Steps for Compliance

1. Define Purposes: Clearly state why you’re collecting each type of data.
2. Set Retention Periods: Establish specific timeframes for different data categories.
3. Document Policies: Create a formal, documented data retention policy.
4. Implement Processes: Have systems to automatically delete or anonymize data when its time is up.

Retention Comes from Lawful Basis

You can’t talk about retention without talking about a lawful basis, because your lawful basis usually determines how long you can keep data.

There are six lawful bases under GDPR, and retention flows directly from them.

Contractual Necessity

If you have customers, you almost certainly have contracts.

You don’t need consent to hold customer data if you need that data to fulfil a contract. That includes:

• invoices
• contact details
• transaction history

In practice, many organizations align customer retention with contractual limitation periods — often six years after the relationship ends.

That’s reasonable, provided you document it.

Legal Obligation

Sometimes you don’t have a choice. If you’re registered for VAT, you must keep certain records. If you have employees, you must keep certain records.

In these cases:

• consent doesn’t apply
• preference doesn’t apply
• the law overrides both

You keep the data because the law requires you to, and your retention period should reflect that obligation.

Legitimate Interests

Legitimate interest is the one people shy away from, but it’s also one of the most practical.

If you rely on legitimate interests, you need to show:

• that keeping the data benefits your organization
• that it doesn’t unfairly harm the individual
• that you’ve balanced those two things

For retention, that might mean keeping limited historical data to:

• defend legal claims
• demonstrate compliance
• resolve disputes

You don’t need a massive document for this, but you do need to document the decision.

Special and Industry-Specific Retention

Some organizations have very long retention periods — and that can be perfectly lawful.

Examples I see regularly:

• organizations working with young people who must retain data until the individual reaches a defined age
• employers retaining health and safety data for decades due to long-tail claims
• football clubs retaining historical records for a century due to archival and cultural value

Long retention is allowed — but only if you can justify it.

What wouldn’t work is an average business saying “we keep everything for 100 years” with no rationale.

4⃣ VISTA InfoSec — Operational Controls & Enforcement Mechanisms

Retention obligations must be enforced through data lifecycle management and retention enforcement controls, not informal practices. This includes:

• Automated deletion
• Scheduled deletion jobs
• System-enforced retention
• Manual vs automated retention controls
• Anonymization and pseudonymization
• Secure deletion
• Deletion verification
• Backup retention handling and backup deletion lag
• Data minimization

Failure here commonly results in process control failure (common finding).

GDPR Data Retention: Actionable Compliance Checklist

Conclusion

GDPR, when implemented and enforced through real systems and not just stated intentional policies, stops feeling like a rulebook and behaves as good data governance.

GDPR data retention requires data controllers and processors to know why they have their data, how long they genuinely need it, and what happens when that time duration expires.

For data processors and controllers, whatever your role, if you are able to provide clear explanations, documentations, and enforcement through real systems, you stand ahead of most organizations.

Discover the ideal way forward for your organizations GDPR ecosystem today.

Data retention is one of the most enforced — and most failed — areas of GDPR. If your organization cannot clearly explain why it holds personal data, how long it keeps it, and how deletion is enforced in real systems, regulators will find the gap before you do.

At VISTA InfoSec, we help organizations turn GDPR data retention from a policy statement into an auditable, defensible operational control. From retention governance and lawful basis mapping to system-level enforcement and privacy notice of transparency.

Assess your data retention risk before regulators do.

Explore our GDPR compliance, audit, and advisory services — or reach out to schedule a focused retention review that identifies gaps, clarifies responsibilities, and puts enforceable controls in place.

Contact us: info@vistainfosec.com

Learn more: Visit our YouTube channel for practical GDPR insights and real-world compliance guidance.

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Last Updated on December 22, 2025 by Narendra Sahoo

As AI adoption accelerates across business functions, December’s expert roundup focuses on a question many organizations are now confronting in practice rather than theory: how should companies prepare for AI related data processing under GDPR. Unlike traditional automation, AI systems often rely on large, dynamic datasets, continuous learning, and opaque decision logic.

This creates real tension with GDPR principles such as purpose limitation, data minimization, transparency, and accountability. What worked for conventional data processing models is no longer sufficient when algorithms infer, predict, and profile at scale. Organizations are beginning to realize that AI readiness under GDPR is not a legal checkbox, but a governance and risk management challenge that cuts across technology, compliance, and business leadership.

Across industries, experts consistently highlight the need to move from reactive compliance to proactive design. Preparing for AI under GDPR means embedding privacy and data protection considerations at the model design stage, clearly defining lawful bases for AI driven processing, and maintaining defensible documentation around training data, decision logic, and human oversight.

It also requires organizations to reassess DPIAs, vendor risk management, and explainability expectations in the context of AI systems that evolve over time. The insights shared below reflect practical, field tested perspectives from professionals working directly with GDPR, AI governance, and data protection challenges in real world environments.

Expert opinions and perspectives on preparing for AI related data processing under GDPR are shared below.

1. Srijit Ramakrishnan : Global Information Technology Director at Exinity – Dubai

In my view, to prepare for AI-driven processing under GDPR, organisations must enforce purpose limitation, data minimisation, and transparent model behaviour. Conduct Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs)early, maintain human-in-the-loop controls, and continuously monitor AI outcomes. Compliance must be built into the AI lifecycle, not bolted on.

2. Adv. Chetanya Pathak : Cyber Consultant @Deloitte – India

In my view, GDPR readiness for AI requires moving beyond policy statements to granular risk governance. Organisations should perform AI-specific DPIAs that assess re-identification probability, model inversion, discriminatory profiling and implications under Art. 22. In parallel, privacy-by-design must translate into engineering—provenance tracking, adversarial testing and controlled training datasets. This dual approach delivers both legal defensibility and technical assurance.

3. Rob Grealis :  Founder & CEO @Secure Safeguards –  USA

Companies preparing for AI-related data processing under GDPR should start with a clear understanding of what data their AI systems collect, generate, and store. Prioritizing data minimization, DPIAs, and strong access controls helps reduce risk while staying compliant. Organizations should also ensure meaningful human oversight for automated decisions, and demand transparency from any AI vendors they rely on. Strong vendor due diligence is critical. Far too many breaches stem from onboarding third-party tools without understanding their security posture. Companies should require clear evidence of controls, audits, and data-handling practices before integrating any vendor, including AI vendors, into their environment.

4. Dr.Raghava DY PhD  : CDO & Head of  Data Consulting, UK & Rplus Analytics – U.K

Organisations preparing for AI-driven data processing under GDPR must start with rigorous data-minimisation, clear purpose specification and strong governance over training data. In large public-sector programmes such as those I’ve supported for big UK Public Sector Customer , we ensure transparency, lawful bases, and DPIAs are established before any AI model development. Continuous monitoring for drift, bias and fairness, combined with human oversight and auditable decision pathways, is essential to maintain GDPR compliance while deploying AI responsibly.

5. Dale Gibler : CIO – Akamai University – USA

AI doesn’t just process data, it makes decisions about people, often at scale and in silence.

GDPR readiness means teaching machines restraint: purpose limitation, minimization, and accountability baked in before intelligence emerges.

The real compliance test isn’t whether AI can learn fast, but whether organizations choose to govern it thoughtfully.

6. Aynur Khacay : Leader & Mentor  – IIA – USA

As AI systems increasingly process vast amounts of personal data, often in complex and less transparent ways, companies must take their GDPR responsibilities seriously. Preparing for AI-related data processing begins with a thorough understanding of what personal data is involved, its sources, and the purpose behind its use, including whether any sensitive information is being handled.

Establishing a clear legal basis for AI processing is essential, whether through obtaining explicit consent, relying on contractual necessity, or another lawful ground under the GDPR. For higher-risk AI applications, conducting a comprehensive Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) is critical to identify, evaluate, and mitigate potential privacy risks.

Transparency towards individuals and partners is equally important. People should be informed when AI influences decisions about them, understand the rationale behind those decisions, and be aware of their rights concerning automated processing.

Furthermore, companies must ensure that AI training and operations align with data protection principles by minimizing the use of sensitive data and implementing safeguards such as pseudonymisation.

By embedding these practices, businesses can not only comply with GDPR requirements but also build trust and demonstrate accountability in the evolving landscape of AI.

Conclusion

Taken together, these expert perspectives make one point clear: preparing for AI related data processing under GDPR is not about predicting every regulatory outcome, but about building resilient governance foundations. Organizations that treat AI as an extension of existing data processing practices will struggle to meet GDPR expectations around transparency, accountability, and individual rights. Those that succeed are investing early in cross functional ownership, stronger documentation, and continuous risk assessment that evolves alongside their AI systems.

The post Expert Roundup -How to Prepare for AI Data Processing Under GDPR? appeared first on Information Security Consulting Company - VISTA InfoSec.

Cold calling and emailing have always been popular and effective techniques of sales and communication with prospective clients. It is a way how brands can reach out to potential clients who may not be aware of your service or product offerings. It is a technique of creating brand awareness and lead generation. However, many customers see these activities as spamming.  This sales technique has earned a bad reputation for simply exploiting or misusing the personal data of individuals under the pretext of business.

People are often bombarded with irrelevant emails and sales calls that were of no interest to customers. This led to the practice of cold emailing and calling being seen as spam. Recognizing the growing misuse of personal data, the GDPR Regulation established strong measures to ensure the protection and privacy of people’s private data. Covering the requirements of GDPR, we have explained whether or not email and cold calling is allowed under GDPR and how organizations can ensure compliance while conducting such actives.

Are cold email marketing and cold calling allowed under GDPR?

GDPR Regulation was established to protect and preserve the rights of individuals and secure their personal data. That said, the regulation sets certain guidelines to ensure the private data of individuals are not misused in the pretext of business. But it is important to note and understand that the GDPR regulation does not stop email marketing or cold emails. However, the guidelines outlined does discourage the misuse of personal data.

The regulation is about protecting personal data and ending unethical digital marketing practices to protect individuals’ privacy. So, to simply put cold calling and cold email marketing activities are allowed under GDPR, provided appropriate guidelines are followed by the organization. However, anyone violating the rules will have to pay a hefty price for it. So, it is just that the businesses have to be a bit more careful about the methods they adopt to gather, manage, store and use the personal data of citizens of the EU.

What does the GDPR Regulation say about email marketing and cold-calling activities?

Organizations must follow certain guidelines as outlined in the GDPR Regulation to ensure compliance in their sales activity like cold emailing or calls. GDPR clearly states that the processing of personal data is only allowed if either the data subject has provided consent or there is a legal basis or legitimate interest of the organization (controller) to send e-mails.

Recital 47 of the GDPR states that the law also applies to the processing of personal data used for direct marketing as a legitimate interest of the controller. However, it is important to note that e-mail marketing is allowed without consent for existing customers. But in case the customers wish to not receive any further information by newsletter or e-mail, the customer can object to processing for marketing purposes.

According to Article 21(2), (3) GDPR, the data subject always has the right to object to the processing of personal data for direct marketing purposes. If the data subject objects, the controller has to stop the processing for marketing purposes. But they can continue to process the data for performing their contract.

It is also important to understand that the legitimate interest of the controller to process data for marketing purposes cannot overweigh the objection of the data subject. Regardless of whether the organization involves in the activity of cold calling or cold emailing, based on its legitimate interest or consent, they are required to adhere to the data subject’s right to be informed.

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How can organizations ensure compliance while sending cold emails or in cold calling?

While it is clear that organizations are allowed to use the technique of cold calling or cold emailing for sales, but they are required to follow certain rules and ensure that the activities are GDPR compliant. So, here are some ways how businesses can ensure compliance with GDPR when sending cold emails or in cold calling.

Legit reason and targeted prospects

Organizations should have a legit reason for processing personal data. They should have a legal basis or legitimate interest to send e-mails. Also, organizations must ensure that the data they collect and use should be only if it is strictly necessary for business. So, for instance, if your business plans to simply just send mails then avoid collecting additional data like address and phone numbers. Plus ensure that you only approach well-targeted prospects. So, in this scenario, people sharing views on products similar to what your business offers can be your potential clients and so be considered as target prospects.

Businesses are allowed to contact only those prospects who are likely interested in their products and service offerings and likely to purchase or avail them. If the prospects are not relevant then you might be breaching the GDPR. Businesses are required to be very selective about the data they collect and the prospects they choose to communicate. If this is done right businesses will definitely not get penalized by the GDPR.

Explain how the prospect’s email was acquired

To cover all grounds of GDPR the organization must know how and from where they acquired the emails. Even if it is a list of emails bought from a third party, organizations must ensure that the database was collected and used in a GDPR compliant manner. Businesses are required to keep a record of how all the data was collected and is processed. It is also important to note that organizations must have in place measures to ensure that if a data subject demands deletion of their data or objects the processing of data, then it must be done immediately. Simply providing an unsubscribe link is not enough but the data must be immediately deleted.

Principles for Processing Personal Data

Organizations can process personal data under the following circumstances as outlined in the GDPR

• Consent-When the organization gets appropriate consent from the prospect to process their personal data.
• Contract-When there is an official and legit contract established between the organizations (controller) and the prospect that requires the processing of the personal data.
• Legal obligation- When the organization has a legal obligation and by law is required to process the personal data of prospect.
• Public Interest- When there is a need to process personal data which is in the public interest, an organization can process personal data.
• Protect vital interest: When there is a vital mutual interest to protect and requires data processing organizations can process personal data.
• Legitimate interest:When there is a legitimate interest and where both the parties will benefit, an organization can process personal data.

Whatever be the reason for contacting prospects and processing their data, it is important that the organization informs and communicates the same to the prospect their emails. This is an essential step in the process of GDPR Compliance.

Explain Legal Interest in the Email

Legal interest is one of the six lawful data processing reasons outlined in the GDPR. Whenever the processing of personal data is not a lawful obligation but for the benefit of both the prospect and organization, then it must be justified and communicated to the prospect in the mail accordingly. Organizations need to prove that there is a legitimate interest in contacting the prospect and that may include-

• The product and service offerings of the organization are of the prospect’s interest and support their need.
• The prospect asked for information or searched for details related to your product and service.
• The prospect is up for expansion in an area that is relevant to your product or service.
• The prospect is your existing or previous client from the same industry.
• The business got to know about the prospect from your network.

• The products and services offered, support the prospects of investment and growth.

It is important to note that the term legal interest for processing data can only be legal if the interest also accounts for the person’s right to privacy. Again an organization cannot hold personal data longer than needed. When an organization collects personal data like an email address, they need to inform the individual that the data has been stored for future marketing purposes and also provide a legitimate interest in storing and processing the data. The email should include a copy of

• A statement informing the prospect how their data was collected and will be processed.
• Provide a time frame or retention period for storing their data.
• Provide a brief explanation of why the data is processed.
• Step-by-step guidelines to the receiver for changing or objecting to the processing or deletion of their data.
• Provide a copy of the Disclaimer for the cold email.

Process of Unsubscribing

If the organization is up from sending cold emails, they also need to provide the recipients an option to opt-out of the emailing list.  Organizations are required to provide an easy, quick unsubscribe option with an ‘unsubscribe link’ added at the bottom of your email to ensure compliance.  This is the fundamental element and right of the recipient in the cold email. The organization should even provide a guide for those who wish to delete their personal data from the records. So, if the receiver asks you to delete their data, then it is easily deleted from your records, backups, and other places of storage. Organizations must ensure that the information provided must be clear and steps to opt-out must be easy.

Frequently Update the Database

GDPR also requires organizations to keep their database updated and delete any data that is no longer required or in use. This simply means that organizations should have in place a data retention policy to regularly update their database and prevent storing of personal data longer than required. So, businesses must not hold any leads for a long time or incorrect contact details. This is one of the most essential and core components to ensure cold emails are GDPR compliant.

CRM database must be regular, up-to-date, and should be traceable in terms of how the personal data was collected, processed, and stored. So, remove the leads that are no longer require and replace them with active contacts with correct contact details. An organization must also secure its database by taking necessary measures for security. Measures such as having in place physical access controls, data access controls, system access controls, input controls, transmission control, and segregation of data, backups, are some measures that will help to secure the data.

Strong Data Security

The purpose of the GDPR Regulation is mainly to ensure data protection and privacy of personal data. So, that said, when sending cold emails organizations must ensure systems applications, and networks used for mailing and storing of data must be GDPR Compliant. The data collected and processed should be encrypted and the ones that are stored should be retained for only as long as when necessary. Organizations must also keep a record of the data collected, processed, and used while establishing a level of authorization for every activity.

Prompt Response to Request/Queries

When organizations run a cold email campaign it is natural that the recipient will have queries regarding your mails or may possibly even request for an unsubscribe or deletion of their data or even ask for their information or correction of their data. So, organizations are required to have in place a system that facilitates prompt response to any such request or queries. The GDPR Regulation gives the citizen of the EU the right to information, right to access, right to rectification, right to deletion, right to restrict processing, right to data portability, right object, and even right to prevent automated decision making. So, with such right given to the citizens, organizations are required to oblige to their request and respond to it at the earliest

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Conclusion

The aim to establish GDPR is to not just simply abolish the cold calling and emailing strategy but to ensure that the organizations appropriately secure the data. The regulation was not designed to limit the way business generates leads, but to ensure appropriate measures are taken to communicate with prospects and prevent misuse of personal data.  With GDPR in place, gone are the days of spamming people with random business advertisements.

GDPR is more focused on protecting and preserving the rights of citizens of the EU. The GDPR regulation encourages businesses to build genuine connections with people who may be interested in the business offering. This adds more accuracy and relevance to the emailing process.

The regulation should be seen as an effort to secure and preserve the rights of people and also for quality lead generation. GDPR compliant cold emails will eventually help organizations close deals faster as the list of prospects will be more relevant and accurate when purchased while ensuring compliance.

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