RapidCompute recently became Pakistan’s first cloud service provider to be GDPR compliant. The successful implementation of the regulatory requirements was marked by a formal signing ceremony between RapidCompute and SecureBeans, a cybersecurity consulting firm that performed the audit and compliance checks. With this achievement, RapidCompute has become one of the select few organizations in the country to be GDPR compliant.
The move validates the cloud providers’ comprehensive security strategy and puts it amongst the handful of Pakistani organizations that follow stringent GDPR rules governing the privacy and security of personal data laid down by the European Commission.
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), adopted by EU in 2016, is the single most important piece of legislation governing privacy of data in the world today. It safeguards European Union data subjects’ central right to privacy and the protection of their personal data and introduces vigorous requirements and standards for data protection, security, and compliance.
“Unfortunately in Pakistan, there is a callous disregard for data protection which is clearly evident in the numerous breaches that have been reported in the past few years. With concerns about data privacy and confidentiality running high across many industries, RapidCompute wanted to assure its customers and partners that it continues to stay committed to its security strategy,” said Imran Khan, Managing Director RapidCompute.
Already being ISO 27001 and PCIDSS Certified, GDPR compliance was the next essential step in ensuring RapidCompute processes and governs customer data according to the highest possible standards.
Officially rolled out in 2016 by the European Commission, GDPR has seen a steady adoption worldwide with the latest figures showing a third of US organizations citing themselves as compliant. However, certain roadblocks like the complexity of regulatory environments and difficulty with adapting legacy IT systems has resulted in slower than expected implementation.
Hassan Riaz, Manager InfoSec at RapidCompute explains why organizations like RapidCompute, that view data protection and privacy regulation as an opportunity, will secure a significant competitive advantage in the long run.
Not only are companies that remain non-compliant at risk of a data breach and the financial and reputational damage that could create; they’re also not seeing the benefits that compliance can bring. From improved consumer trust to increased customer engagement and revenue growth, research shows GDPR compliant organizations outperform non-compliant ones by an average of 20%.
Speaking about the compliance procedure itself, Hassan Riaz quoted,
We have meticulously built incrementally on our existing internal security processes and procedures to ensure we meet the accountability principles under the GDPR requirements. RapidCompute has appointed a Data Protection Officer and we have conducted numerous GDPR awareness workshops so all of our new and existing employees know how to handle personal data.
RapidCompute was audited by SecureBeans, a Cyber Security Consulting Firm specializing in the domain of Information Security, Digital Forensics and Governance of Enterprise IT.
Azam Mughal, CEO of SecureBeans was present at the ceremony and said,
We’re very excited to see local entities like RapidCompute take data protection seriously and aim to be GDPR compliant when most other organizations are now just starting their security journey. Our aim is to understand clients’ needs and deliver the right answers for their data, security and compliance requirements. We’re happy to announce today that RapidCompute is officially GDPR compliant and can provide their customers with a secure business environment that protects their confidentiality, integrity and availability of business information in its truest essence.
RapidCompute is Pakistan’s oldest and leading cloud service provider, offering IaaS cloud computing, networking services and management tools that power the mission-critical applications of organizations. With several hundred clients across various industries, some of which store and process data of the EU, RapidCompute’s GDPR compliance will now ensure that customers can safely host their infrastructure on a cloud platform that guarantees implementation of appropriate technical measures. Financial entities and banks, in particular, which interact with EU data, will be able to greatly benefit from these information protection measures.
