Security Awareness Briefing  //  Eriu Technology  //  Defensive Use Only

GDPR FOR
THE TERRIFIED

The law, minus the fear and the consultants.

What data protection actually asks of a small Irish business — in plain words, without the jargon.

01 / What it is

GDPR is the EU's data-protection law, enforced in Ireland by the Data Protection Commission (DPC). It governs any personal data you hold — customers, staff, suppliers — and rests on a few plain ideas: a lawful reason to hold data, only what you need, kept secure, not forever, and people's right to see or delete theirs.

02 / How it works
1
Know what personal data you hold, and where it lives.
2
Hold only what you need, for only as long as you need it.
3
Keep it secure — access controlled, backed up, encrypted.
4
Be ready to answer a person asking to see or delete their data.

→ Do those four and you're most of the way there; the paperwork is just writing down what you already do.

The plain-English duties

What it actually asks of you:

Know your dataWhat you hold, where, and why.
Keep it secureThe rest of this series, basically.
Don't over-keepBin what you no longer need.
Honour requestsPeople can see or delete theirs.
!
A breach? The clock is 72 hoursIf personal data is lost or exposed and it poses a risk to people, you generally have 72 hours to report it to the Data Protection Commission. Know that now, not during the panic. Keeping less data — and encrypting what you keep — is the best way to make a breach a non-event.
03 / Why it's dangerous
  • It covers every business that holds personal data — size is no excuse.
  • Breaches are reportable — often within 72 hours.
  • Hoarding data raises the stakes of any breach.
  • 'We didn't know' isn't a defence the DPC accepts.
04 / How you stop it
  • Map your data — what you hold, where, and why.
  • Minimise and delete — keep only what you need.
  • Secure it — access control, backups, encryption.
  • Have a breach plan — know the 72-hour rule before you need it.
  • Be able to honour access and deletion requests.
Less fear · Less data · Fewer problems
An Eriu Technology security briefing  ·  Awareness & defence only