Back in May 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) launched in Europe, and if nothing else, preparation for its taking effect has made clear that privacy and security are intertwined concepts. Data privacy - and the unprecedented breaches in data protection and exploitation of private data we’ve seen - has become more than just talk. And more importantly, perhaps, cybersecurity has become a concern for everyone in a company - not just the domain of IT professionals who specialize in (or maybe don’t even specialize in) security. Security - and by extension - safeguarding privacy - has become the concern of senior executives and corporate boards as well, given the severe and far-reaching consequences of data breaches in the post-GDPR era.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a term that’s been bandied about frequently for the last year or so, but few references have targeted developers and devops to illustrate exactly how important these roles are in ensuring GDPR compliance (and avoiding the consequences of non-compliance). The GDPR comes into effect next month (May 2018) meaning that the countdown is on to ensure compliance with what is, in effect, a radical new privacy law (as Harvard Business Review describes it): “which covers any business that processes information about EU residents, will dramatically affect the way data is collected, stored, and used, including for U.S. companies doing business abroad.” HBR also argues that GDPR may mean “the end of what has long been the internet’s grand bargain: the exchange of free or subsidized content for personalized advertising”.

As the General Data Protection Regulation comes into force (in May 2018), businesses of all sizes are getting ready in many different ways to achieve compliance. The aim: protect the personal data of individuals in Europe. Whether your company is in Europe or, like most global enterprises, doing business within Europe, you are responsible for ensuring that people’s personal data is handled with care. This takes on different meanings depending on context, but here, we’re talking about protecting data that lives in parts of your IT infrastructure. In this case specifically, the cache. 

2018 started with a bang!