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New Appointment at Networks Unlimited Underscores the Importance of Governance and Compliance

Siphokazi Mato – NU Compliance Officer Networks Unlimited has recently appointed a new Risk and Compliance Officer, Siphokazi Mato, to ensure that the company functions in a legal and ethical manner while meeting its business goals. Compliance is a crucially important aspect of a business, referring to the practice and processes of how a company adheres to established guidelines and legal specifications. “Compliance is necessary to ensure that Networks Unlimited conducts its business in compliance with all national and international laws and regulations, as well as professional standards relating to the company’s particular business arena. The penalties and imprisonment for non-compliance can have disastrous effects on an organisation, which makes it critically important for doing bu...

Does PoPIA Force Businesses to Rethink Data Strategies for the Better?

The moment has arrived: last week the Protection of Personal Information Act (PoPIA) came into force. It hasn’t been sprung on us, the process has been ongoing and businesses have been anticipating their compliance obligations for years. PoPIA, much like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the EU, exists to support the protection of personal information processed by public and private organisations. There are strong penalties for noncompliance. PoPIA is Live Now that the Act is live, there are several ramifications for businesses, but a few – anecdotally at least – have given executives more sleepless nights than others. Companies must allow data subjects to object to their data being processed, as well as have the right to revoke previously given consent at any time. When a c...

6 Urgent Steps Companies Need to Take to Ensure POPIA Compliance

Sourced from Europa EU. The eleventh hour is upon businesses who are not POPIA (Protection of Personal Information Act) compliant. The effective date of 1 July is upon us. Your business should have already started its compliance journey, as it will at least help lessen the risk of cybersecurity breaches. Securing your data will help your business be in good standing with local and international partners. This will also enhance the reputation of your business and exempt you from fines and non-compliance. Here are six steps your business can take before 01 July to be POPIA compliant: 1. Encrypt Everything One of the major requirements under POPIA is to ensure that you apply Generally Accepted Information Security Protocols. While these requirements are not the same for all organisations, som...

What is POPIA and What Does it Mean for Cybersecurity

With an inundation of information from all angles regarding The Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), and the 1 July commencement date quickly approaching, organisations could be forgiven for feeling more than a little overwhelmed. Emmanuel Tzingakis, Technical Lead for Trend Micro Sub-Saharan Africa, contemplates how POPIA can assist organisations to secure their data and be better enabled to handle any potential cyber threats. What is POPIA? With personal information becoming a hot commodity on the dark web it is critical to understand exactly how to protect data from cybercriminals. A recent global survey revealed that 79% of organisations experienced disruptions,  financial loss or other setbacks due to a lack of cyber preparedness in 2020. As work from home strateg...