European privacy seal Europrise: Wolf Theiss CIO Helmut Waitzer and technology lawyer Roland Marko certify data protection fitness

Vienna, 21 November 2017 – Wolf Theiss is offering companies further support in preparing for the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The European data privacy seal EuroPriSe attests to the conformity of IT products and services with European data protection laws. As certified EuroPriSe experts, CIO Helmut Waitzer and Wolf Theiss Partner Roland Marko audit the way a company handles personal data from both a technical as well as a legal perspective.

“The GDPR which is to be implemented by May 2018 obliges companies to adapt their technologies and sufficiently protect personal data”, explains Roland Marko. “However, quite a lot is being demanded of companies at the interface between legal regulations and technology. They are responsible themselves for assessing whether promising IT products and IT services can ultimately be deployed while ensuring data privacy compliance, and whether one can trust the assurances made by the provider”, the data protection expert states. By contrast, services and products granted EuroPriSe certification boast credible confirmation of GDPR compliance recognized throughout Europe which customers can rely upon and which also creates transparency.

The data privacy seal represents a major competitive advantage compared to unaudited suppliers, according to Helmut Waitzer, CIO Wolf Theiss. “Consumers are increasingly developing greater sensitivity with respect to the security of their personal data. After all, who wants to risk their own Web-based information such as health data, bank account balances, applications submitted to job portals or chats on dating platforms being subject to data hacking?”, Waitzer adds.

EuroPriSe serves as a business enabler constituting an internationally recognized verification of data privacy which enhances customer confidence in the product, Marko and Waitzer agree. Thanks to their dual qualifications as a Legal Expert (Marko) and Technical Expert (Waitzer), the two certified EuroPriSe auditors provide certification in two phases under one roof. EuroPriSe certification is particularly interesting for providers of IT products and services attaching importance to an independent audit and confirmation of data protection compliance. Customers themselves are also increasingly inquiring about and demanding certification for the above-mentioned reasons (insufficient transparency of providers, high fines for data privacy protection violations).