A-Z of data protection - E is for ...

A-Z of data protection: terms you need to know

E

European Data Protection Board (EDPB)
• an independent European body established by the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, which is composed of representatives from each of the national data protection authorities and the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS)
• its roles include ensuring the consistent application of data protection policies in the European Economic Area, promoting cooperation among regulators, and publishing advisories and recommendations in data protection and privacy

European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS)
• the data protection regulator for the EU, whose responsibility is to ensure that the privacy rights of individuals are protected by EU institutions such as the Parliament and the Council of the European Union
• acts as secretariat to the European Data Protection Board (EDPB)

encryption

• the process of converting data from a readable format into an unreadable format to secure the data from being accessed by malicious actors
• encrypted data can only be unlocked with an encryption key
• it is one of the simplest ways to secure data and is widely used to protect personal information, passwords, financial transactions, and messages

encryption key
• the key or password to decrypt encrypted files so that the user can read and access the original information
• encryption keys may be symmetric or asymmetric

• Symmetric encryption keys, or private encryption keys, use the same key to encode and decode (or encrypt and decrypt). This is commonly used for individual users and when the file does not undergo transfer
• Asymmetric encryption keys consist of a public and private encryption key, where the public key is shared at large while the private key is known only by the owner

express or explicit consent / opt-in consent
• a type of consent wherein an individual directly expresses the decision to agree or disagree with the collection of one’s personal data