Data Protection Policy

DATA PROTECTION POLICY

On January 25, 2019, Nigeria’s National Information and Technology Development Agency (NITDA) issued the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation 2019 (the Regulation). The Regulation took effect on same date.

INTRODUCTION

11 PLC needs to gather and use certain information about individuals. These include customers, suppliers, business contacts, employees and other people the organisation has a relationship with or may need to contact.

This policy describes how this personal data must be collected, handled and stored to meet the company’s data protection standards — and to comply with the law.

WHY THIS POLICY EXISTS

This data protection policy ensures 11 PLC:

Complies with data protection law, regulation and follows good practice
Protects the rights of staff, customers and business partners
Is open about how it stores and processes individuals’ data
Protects itself from the risks of data breach

DATA PROTECTION REGULATION

The Nigeria Data Protection Regulation 2019 describes how organisations — including 11 PLC— must collect, handle and store personal information.

These rules apply regardless of whether data is stored electronically, on paper or on other materials.

To comply with the law, personal information must be collected and used fairly, stored safely and not disclosed unlawfully.

The Data Protection Regulation is underpinned by eight important principles. These are:

I. Be processed fairly and lawfully
II. Be obtained only for specific, lawful purposes
III. Be adequate, relevant and not excessive
IV. Be accurate and kept up to date
V. Not be held for any longer than necessary Processed in accordance with the rights of data subjects
VI. Be protected in appropriate ways
VII. Not be transferred outside the Nigerian territory, unless that country or territory also ensures an adequate level of protection

PEOPLE, RISKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

POLICY SCOPE

It applies to all data that the company holds relating to identifiable individuals, even if that information technically falls outside of the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation, 2019.

People’s data can be described as datasets (a collection of related sets of information that is composed of separate elements but can be manipulated as a unit) describing people in organizations. It is information and insight that an organization has available on its various pools of people collected from them or other sources approved by them.

This include but not limited to the following:

I. Names of Individuals
II. Personal Identification Number
III. Postal Addresses
IV. Email Addresses
V. Telephone Numbers
VI. Any other information relating to individuals such as financial, medical and bank information etc

DATA PROTECTION RISKS

This policy helps to protect 11 PLC from some very real data security risks, including:

I. Breaches of confidentiality. For instance, information being given out inappropriately.
II. Failing to offer choice. For instance, all individuals should be free to choose how the company uses data relating to them.
III. Reputational damage. For instance, the company could suffer if hackers successfully gained access to sensitive data.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Everyone who works for or with 11 PLC has some responsibility for ensuring data is collected, stored and handled appropriately.

Each team that handles personal data must ensure that it is handled and processed in line with this policy and data protection principles.

However, these people have key areas of responsibility:

The Board of Directors is ultimately responsible for ensuring that 11 PLC meets its legal obligations.

The Data Protection Officer, (DPO) is responsible for:

I. Keeping the Management updated on data protection responsibilities, risks and issues.
II. Reviewing all data protection procedures and related policies, in line with an agreed schedule.
III. Arranging data protection training and advice for the people covered by this policy.
IV. Handling data protection questions from staff and anyone else covered by this policy.
V. Dealing with requests from individuals to see the data 11 PLC holds about them (also called ‘subject access requests’).
VI. Checking and approving any contracts or agreements with third parties that may handle the company’s sensitive data.
VII. Reviewing any request from third parties for release of Data Subject information, and ensure that request is in compliance with Nigerian Data Protection Regulation Obtain legal endorsement and Management approval before releasing any personal information to third parties.
VIII. Relates with Data Privacy Regulatory and supervisory authorities, and ensure that the company complies with all relevant Data Protection Laws.
IX. Shall conduct Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) to identify high risk processing operations or units.
X. Arrange for annual Data Audit and ensure returns are filed within the stipulated time.
XI. Seek the ‘Data Subject’ consent before his/her personal information is released or transferred to the third parties.
XII. Obtain appropriate endorsement from Human Resources, Legal and IT (as applicable) and Management approval before transferring or releasing personal data to third parties.

The IT MANAGER is responsible for:

I. Ensuring all IT systems, services and equipment used for storing data meet acceptable security standards.
II. Performing regular checks and scans to ensure security hardware and software is functioning properly.
III. Evaluating any third-party services the company is considering using to store or process data. For instance, cloud computing services.

The CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER is responsible for:

I. Approving any data protection statements attached to marketing communications such as emails and letters.
II. Where necessary, working with DPO and other staff to ensure marketing initiatives abide by data protection principles.
III. Public Affairs Manager is responsible for (in consultation with DPO) addressing any data protection queries from journalists or media outlets like newspapers. No release of information to the press or public without Management Approval.

APPROVAL FOR RELEASE OR TRANSFER OF PERSONAL DATA TO THIRD PARTIES

I. Any request received by the company for the release, transfer or sharing of employee personal data or any other ‘Data Subject’ covered under NDPR shall be forwarded to Data Protection Officer (DPO).
II. DPO shall review the request to ensure that it complies with the relevant laws and regulations
III. DPO shall seek and obtain the consent of the employee or Data subject whose personal information is to be shared with third party.
IV. DPO shall explain to the employee or data subject in clear and unambiguous terms the purpose which the data is to be processed.
V. DPO shall obtain Legal, Human Resource and IT endorsement and thereafter submit the document to Senior Executive Management for approval.
VI. The approval to release, transfer or share employees or other Data Subject personal information with third party or media resides with the Managing Director or his designate.
VII. All endorsements and approvals must be obtained in writing and properly filed.

GENERAL STAFF GUIDELINES

I. The only people that are able to access private or proprietary data should be those who need it for their work. It is mandatory for them to be trained on the importance of data protection.
II. Data should not be shared informally. When access to confidential information is required, employees can request it from their line managers and DPO.

A data Protection Officer will provide training (using internal resource, or external resource where internal resource is not available) to all employees to help them understand their responsibilities when handling data.

I. Employees should keep all data secure, by taking sensible precautions and following the guidelines below.
II. In particular, strong passwords must be used and they should never be shared.
III. Personal data should not be disclosed to unauthorised people, either within the company or externally.
IV. Data should be regularly reviewed and updated if it is found to be out of date. If no longer required, it should be deleted and disposed of.
V. Employees should request help from their line manager or the data protection officer if they are unsure about any aspect of data protection.

DATA STORAGE

All company data must be categorized. Data storage rules describe how and where data should be safely stored. Data categorization full details and necessary controls requirements are covered in company’s Management and Protection of Information (MPI) procedure. Further questions about storing data safely can be directed to the IT manager or Data Protection Officer.

Personal Data by default is classified as ‘Private’, and hence requires two control points irrespective of medium of storage i.e. electronic or hard copy physical.

Hard copy (physically printed) private data should be kept in a secure place and locked up office or drawer where unauthorized people cannot have access to it.

These guidelines also apply to data that is usually stored electronically but has been printed out for some reason:

I. When not required, the paper or files should be kept in a locked drawer or filing cabinet.
II. Employees should make sure paper and printouts are not left where unauthorised people could have access to them, like on a printer.
III. Data printouts should be shredded and disposed of securely when no longer required.

Electronically stored private and proprietary data must be protected from unauthorised access, accidental deletion and malicious hacking attempts:

I. Data must be stored in a network location that is only accessible to authorized personnel.
II. Data should be protected by strong passwords that are changed regularly and never shared between employees.
III. If data is stored on removable media (like a CD or DVD), they must be encrypted or protected by a password on the media. In addition, the media should be kept locked away securely when not being used.
IV. Data should only be stored on designated drives and servers, and should only be uploaded to an approved cloud computing services.
V. Servers containing personal data should be sited in a secure location, away from general office space.
VI. Data should be backed up frequently. Those backups should be tested regularly, in line with the company’s standard backup procedures.
VII. Data should never be saved directly to laptops or other mobile devices like tablets or smart phones.
VIII. All servers and computers containing data should be protected by approved security software and a firewall.

DATA USE

Personal data is of no value to 11 PLC unless the business can make use of it. However, it is when personal data is accessed and used that it can be at the greatest risk of loss, corruption or theft:

I. When working on company systems, employees should ensure the screens of their computers are always locked when left unattended.
II. Personal data should not be shared by email without
III. Data must be encrypted before being transferred electronically. The IT manager can explain how to send data to authorized external contacts.
IV. Employees should not save copies of personal data to their own computers. Always access and update the central copy of any data.

DATA ACCURACY

The Regulation requires 11 PLC to take reasonable steps to ensure data is kept accurate and up to date.

The more important it is that the personal data is accurate, the greater the effort 11 PLC should put into ensuring its accuracy.

It is the responsibility of all employees who work with data to take reasonable steps to ensure it is kept as accurately and up to date as possible.

I. Data will be held in as few places as necessary. Staff should not create any unnecessary additional data sets.
II. Staff should take every opportunity to ensure data is updated. For instance, by confirming a customer’s details when they call.

11 PLC will make it easy for data subjects to update the information it holds about them. For instance, via the company website.

I. Data should be updated as inaccuracies are discovered. For instance, if a customer can no longer be reached on their stored telephone number, it should be removed from the database.
II. It is the marketing manager’s responsibility to regularly ensure marketing databases are checked against industry suppression files.

RIGHTS OF INDIVIDUALS UNDER NIGERIAN DATA PROTECTION REGULATION

All individuals who are the subject of personal data held by 11 PLC are entitled to:

I. Ask what information the company holds about them and why.
II. Ask how to gain access to it.
III. Be informed how to keep it up to date.
IV. Be informed how the company is meeting its data protection obligations.
V. Rectification and correction where necessary
VI. Erasure and deletion under certain circumstances
VII. Restriction on processing of personal data
VIII. Data portability and transferability
IX. Object to further processing of personal data

If an individual contacts the company requesting this information, this is called a subject access request.

Subject access requests from individuals should be made by email, addressed to the Data Protection Officer (DPO) at email address: olamide.olorundun@11plc.com. The data controller can supply a standard request form, although individuals do not have to use this.

The Data Protection Officer will always verify the identity of anyone making a subject access request before handing over any information, if necessary.

PROCURING CONSENT

11 PLC shall comply with the requirement of NDPR. To this effect the company prohibits the use of force, coercion, undue influence or fraudulent manner to obtain personal information from data subject or employees.

The company shall obtain, process and retain or store personal data that are relevant in its ordinary course of business. Consent may be obtained in form of written declaration, or by using a simple designed form; and in both cases the language must be precise, clear and easily understandable by the Data Subject.

DISCLOSING DATA FOR OTHER REASONS

In certain circumstances, the Data Protection Regulation allows personal data to be disclosed to law enforcement agencies without the consent of the data subject.

Under these circumstances, 11 PLC will disclose requested data. However, the data controller will ensure the request is legitimate, seeking assistance from the board and from the company’s legal advisers where necessary.

PROVIDING INFORMATION

11 PLC aims to ensure that individuals are aware that their data is being processed, and that they understand:

I. How the data is being used
II. How to exercise their rights