Johannesburg, 12 Aug 2014
On commencement of the Protection of Personal Information (POPI) Act, a date still to be determined, organisations will have a year to demonstrate compliance to the legislation. Although the full extent of non-compliance by any third parties that process personal information on behalf of their clients or responsible parties may not be clear at this stage, it is expected to be significant, not just from a contractual, but also from a regulatory perspective, according to Francis Cronje, CEO at InfoSeal.
The responsible collection, processing and dissemination of personal information will receive even more focus for organisations adopting cloud technology.
Among many factors, considerations and deterrents around the adoption of cloud computing, privacy-related challenges must be considered, says Deven Pillay, COO of InfoSeal. "The need to take reasonable measures to keep personal information safe, and in particular, to counter unlawful cross-border data transfer, will require organisations adopting cloud-based services and solutions to be mindful around any related privacy risks."
Within the South African context, InfoSeal has researched and developed its own InfoSeal Cloud Computing Program (ICCP). Cronje says the road to accreditation through the ICCP is no easy task, as prospective certificate holders are subjected to a rigorous process of assessments and validations. Through this process, the ICCP provides assurance that certified cloud-managed services are mindful of personal information being processed and managed in a lawful and responsible manner.
Alto Africa, one of sub-Saharan Africa's fastest growing cloud managed service providers, recently approached InfoSeal to consider its cloud computing solution as part of their information governance and privacy compliance strategy. Alto has since embarked on the InfoSeal information assessment to become ICCP compliant.
Oliver Potgieter, Director of Alto Africa, said: "As a cloud solutions specialist, privacy and information security are at the very heart of Alto Africa's business model. Attaining InfoSeal's ICCP certification is further demonstration of our commitment to privacy-friendly, secure, reliable, interoperable and energy efficient services."
The ICCP is expected to close the gap between any negative perceptions concerning cloud-based services and privacy that might exist in this under-regulated and uncertain environment
To find out more around the InfoSeal Cloud Computing Program and related solutions provided by InfoSeal, you can visit www.infoseal.co.za, or alternatively send a query to info@infoseal.co.za.
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