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Comparison between ASD Essential 8 and GDPR


Overview

The ASD Essential 8 and GDPR are both sets of security measures designed to protect data. The ASD Essential 8 focuses on proactive measures to protect data from cyber threats, while GDPR is a set of regulations to ensure data privacy and protection of personal data. The ASD Essential 8 includes measures like patching, application whitelisting, and restricting administrative privileges, while GDPR includes data collection and processing regulations, data subject rights, and data breach notification requirements. Both sets of measures are important for ensuring data security and privacy.



What is ASD Essential 8?

The ASD Essential 8 is a set of eight strategies developed by the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) to help organizations protect their systems and data from cyber threats. The Essential 8 consists of application whitelisting, patching applications, patching operating systems, restricting administrative privileges, user application hardening, multi-factor authentication, daily backups, and the use of application sandboxing. These strategies are designed to be implemented in combination with one another in order to provide maximum protection against sophisticated cyber threats. The Essential 8 is a comprehensive approach to cybersecurity that can be tailored to meet the specific needs of any organization. By implementing these strategies, organizations can reduce the risk of data breaches, protect their systems and data, and gain peace of mind.


What is GDPR?

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a set of legal requirements that apply to any organization, regardless of its size or location, that processes personal data of individuals in the European Union (EU). GDPR was adopted on April 14, 2016, and became enforceable on May 25, 2018. GDPR strengthens and unifies data protection for individuals in the EU, and applies to any organization that processes personal data of EU citizens, regardless of the organization's physical location. GDPR requires organizations to protect the personal data and privacy of EU citizens for transactions that occur within EU member states. It also applies to the export of personal data outside of the EU. GDPR requires organizations to be transparent about the data they collect and how it is used, and to provide individuals with the right to access, correct, delete or restrict the processing of their data. Organizations must also have appropriate security measures in place to protect personal data. Organizations that fail to comply with the GDPR can be fined up to 4% of their global annual turnover or '?20 million (whichever is greater).


A Comparison Between ASD Essential 8 and GDPR

1. Both focus on protecting the privacy and security of personal data.

2. Both emphasize the need for organizations to have appropriate technical and organizational measures in place to protect data.

3. Both require organizations to assess the risks associated with the processing of personal data and to take appropriate steps to mitigate those risks.

4. Both require organizations to have a process in place to detect, investigate, and respond to data breaches.

5. Both require organizations to have a process in place for responding to data subject requests.

6. Both require organizations to document their data processing activities.

7. Both require organizations to provide information to data subjects about their rights and how their data is being processed.

8. Both require organizations to ensure that any third-party service providers they use are compliant with their data protection requirements.


The Key Differences Between ASD Essential 8 and GDPR

1. ASD Essential 8 focuses on cyber security while GDPR focuses on data privacy.

2. ASD Essential 8 is an Australian government initiative while GDPR is an EU regulation.

3. ASD Essential 8 provides guidance on how to protect systems from cyber security threats while GDPR provides guidance on how to protect personal data.

4. ASD Essential 8 is focused on prevention while GDPR is focused on both prevention and enforcement.

5. ASD Essential 8 does not include any specific requirements for data breach notification while GDPR requires organizations to notify authorities and affected individuals in certain circumstances.

6. ASD Essential 8 does not include any specific requirements for data protection impact assessments while GDPR requires organizations to conduct such assessments in certain circumstances.