Purpose and Scope
In its business operations HES FINTECH LLC may process a variety of Personal Data about:
- Current, past and prospective employees
- Customers’ personnel
- Users of and visitors to the website
- Other stakeholders
In collecting and using this data, the organization is subject to a variety of legislation controlling how such activities may be carried out and the safeguards that must be put in place to protect it.
The purpose of this policy is to set out the relevant legislation and to describe the steps HES FINTECH LLC is taking to ensure that it complies with it. This control applies to all systems, people and processes that constitute the organization’s information systems, including board members, directors, employees, suppliers and other third parties who have access to HES FINTECH LLC systems.
Privacy and data protection policy
Definitions
The definitions used within privacy legislation vary and it is not appropriate to reproduce them all here. However, the common terms used within this policy are as follows:
- Personal Data: Any information that (a) can be used to identify the Data Subject to whom such information relates, or (b) is or might be directly or indirectly linked to a Data Subject.
- Data Subject: Natural person to whom the Personal Data relates. This term is also referred to as data subject.
- Processing of Personal Data: Operation or set of operations performed upon Personal Data. Examples of processing operations of Personal Data include, but are not limited to, the collection, storage, alteration, retrieval, consultation, disclosure, anonymization, pseudonymization, dissemination or otherwise making available, deletion or destruction of Personal Data.
- Data Controller: Privacy stakeholder (or privacy stakeholders) that determines the purposes and means for processing Personal Data other than natural persons who use data for personal purposes.
- Data Processor: Privacy stakeholder that processes Personal Data on behalf of and in accordance with the instructions of a Data Controller.
Principles relating to processing of Personal Data
There are a number of fundamental principles upon which most privacy legislation is based. These are summarized as follows:
- Lawfulness, fairness and transparency - Personal Data shall be processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner in relation to the Data Subject
- Purpose limitation – Personal Data shall be collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes and not further processed in a manner that is incompatible with those purposes
- Data minimization – the Personal Data collected and stored shall be adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which it is processed
- Accuracy – Personal Data shall be accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date; every reasonable step must be taken to ensure that Personal Data that is inaccurate, having regard to the purposes for which it is processed, is erased or rectified without delay
- Storage limitation – Personal Data shall be kept in a form which permits identification of Data Subjects for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the Personal Data is processed
- Integrity and confidentiality – Personal Data shall be processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security of the Personal Data, including protection against unauthorized or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction or damage, using appropriate technical or organizational measures
The handling of sensitive Personal Data—such as information revealing racial or ethnic background, political views, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, genetic data, biometric data used for unique identification, health records, or details about a person’s sex life or sexual orientation—is strictly prohibited. However, exceptions may apply if permitted by law, including cases involving public interest, preventive medical purposes, or the establishment, defense, or enforcement of legal claims.
HES FINTECH LLC will ensure that it complies with all these principles both within processing and as part of the introduction of new methods of system processing such as new IT systems.
Rights of the individual
The Data Subject also has rights with regard to their Personal Data. These will generally consist of:
- The right to be informed
- The right of access
- The right to rectification
- The right to erasure
- The right to restrict processing
- The right to data portability
- The right to object
- Rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling.
Each of these rights are supported by appropriate procedures within HES FINTECH LLC that allow the required action to be taken within the timescales stated in the applicable privacy legislation.
These timescales are shown in the list below:
- The right to be informed - When data is collected (if supplied by Data Subject) or within one month (if not supplied by Data Subject)
- The right of access - One month
- The right to rectification - One month
- The right to erasure - Without undue delay
- The right to restrict processing - Without undue delay
- The right to data portability - One month
- The right to object - On receipt of objection
- Rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling - Not specified
If HES FINTECH LLC does not take action on the request of the Data Subjects, HES FINTECH LLC shall inform the Data Subject at the latest within one month of receipt of the request of the reasons for not taking action.
In cases where requests from a Data Subject are unfounded or excessive, HES FINTECH LLC may either: charge a reasonable fee taking into account the administrative costs of providing the information/communication/taking the action requested; or refuse to act on the request.
Furthermore, HES FINTECH LLC may request additional information necessary to confirm the identity of the Data Subject making the request. The information provided to Data Subjects shall be comprehensible and in a clearly legible manner with an overview of the intended processing.
Moreover, HES FINTECH LLC shall take reasonable steps to inform relevant Data Controllers, Data Processors, and recipients (as applicable) of request of rectification/erasure/restriction of processing from the data principal, unless this proves impossible or involves disproportionate effort.
Lawfulness of processing
Depending on the legislation involved, there may be a number of alternative ways in which the lawfulness of a specific case of processing of Personal Data may be established. It is HES FINTECH LLC policy to identify the appropriate basis for processing and to document it, in accordance with the applicable legislation. The main options are described in brief in the following sections.
Consent
Where appropriate, HES FINTECH LLC will obtain consent from a Data Subject to collect and process their data. In cases of children being below the age specified in applicable legislation, parental consent will be obtained. Transparent information about our usage of their Personal Data will be provided to Data Subjects at the time that consent is obtained and their rights regarding their data explained, such as the right to withdraw consent. This information will be provided in an accessible form, written in clear language and free of charge.
If the Personal Data is not obtained directly from the Data Subject, then this information will be provided to the Data Subject within a reasonable period after the data is obtained and definitely within one month.
Performance of a contract
Where the Personal Data collected and processed is required to fulfill a contract with the Data Subject, consent is not required. This will often be the case where the contract cannot be completed without the Personal Data in question, for example, a delivery cannot be made without an address.
Legal obligation
If the Personal Data is required to be collected and processed in order to comply with applicable law, then consent is not required. This may be the case for some data related to employment and taxation for example, and for many areas addressed by the public sector. For example, processing of Personal Data relating to criminal convictions and offenses or related security measures.
Vital interests of the Data Subject
In a case where the Personal Data is required to protect the vital interests of the Data Subject or of another natural person, then this may be used as the lawful basis of the processing. HES FINTECH LLC will retain reasonable, documented evidence that this is the case, whenever this reason is used as the lawful basis of the processing of Personal Data. As an example, this may be used in aspects of social care, particularly in the public sector.
Task carried out in the public interest
Where HES FINTECH LLC needs to perform a task that it believes is in the public interest or as part of an official duty then the Data Subject’s consent will not be requested. The assessment of the public interest or official duty will be documented and made available as evidence where required.
Legitimate interests
If the processing of specific Personal Data is in the legitimate interests of HES FINTECH LLC and is judged not to affect the rights and freedoms of the Data Subject in a significant way, then this may be defined as the lawful reason for the processing. The reasoning behind this view will be documented.
Privacy by design
HES FINTECH LLC has adopted the principle of privacy by design and will ensure that the definition and planning of all new or significantly changed systems that collect, or process Personal Data will be subject to due consideration of privacy issues, including the completion of one or more privacy impact assessments.
The privacy impact assessment will include:
- Consideration of how as well as what types of Personal Data will be processed and for what purposes
- Assessment of whether the proposed processing of Personal Data is both necessary and proportionate to the purpose(s)
- Assessment of the risks to individuals in processing Personal Data
- What controls are necessary to address the identified risks and demonstrate compliance with applicable legislation
Use of techniques such as data minimization/pseudonymization/encryption will be considered where applicable and appropriate, including at the end of processing, and the mechanisms used to achieve them will be documented.
Where a data protection impact assessment indicates that the processing would result in a high risk in the absence of measures taken by Data Controller to mitigate the risk, HES FINTECH LLC shall consult the supervisory authority prior to processing.
Data protection officer
A defined role of Data Protection Officer (DPO) is generally required under privacy legislation if an organization is a public authority, if it performs large scale monitoring or if it processes particularly sensitive types of data on a large scale. The DPO is required to have an appropriate level of knowledge and can either be an in-house resource or outsourced to an appropriate service provider.
Based on these criteria, HES FINTECH LLC does not require a Data Protection Officer to be appointed.
Breach notification
It is HES FINTECH LLC’s policy to be fair and proportionate when considering the actions to be taken to inform affected parties regarding breaches of Personal Data. In line with the applicable legislation, where a breach is known to have occurred which is likely to result in a risk to the rights and freedoms of individuals, where required the relevant supervisory authority will be informed within the specified timeframe (within 72 hours). If acting as a Data Processor, HES FINTECH LLC shall notify the Data Controller of the data breach security incident. This will be managed in accordance with our Security Incident Response Policy which sets out the overall process of handling information security incidents.
Under privacy legislation, the relevant authority may have the right to impose a range of fines, often based on a percentage of annual worldwide turnover or a specific amount, for infringements of the regulations.
Addressing compliance to applicable privacy legislation
The following actions are undertaken to ensure that HES FINTECH LLC complies at all times with the accountability principle of privacy legislation within the countries in which it operates:
- The legal basis for processing Personal Data is clear and unambiguous
- A Data Protection Officer is appointed with specific responsibility for data protection in the organization (if required)
- All staff involved in handling Personal Data understand their responsibilities for following good data protection practice
- Training in data protection has been provided to all staff upon hire (as part of the onboarding process) and at least annually thereafter
- Rules regarding consent are followed
- Routes are available to Data Subjects wishing to exercise their rights regarding Personal Data and such inquiries are handled effectively
- Regular reviews of procedures involving Personal Data are carried out
- Privacy by design is adopted for all new or changed systems and processes
The following documentation of processing activities is recorded:
- Organization name and relevant details: Maintained within corporate registration documents and internal records.
- Purposes of the Personal Data processing: Defined in the "Categories of Personal Data and Data Processing Activities" table of this policy.
- Categories of individuals and Personal Data processed: Defined in the "Categories of Personal Data and Data Processing Activities" table of this policy.
- Categories of Personal Data recipients: Records are maintained of third-party service providers.
- Personal Data retention schedules: The organization maintains detailed retention schedules as defined in the Data Retention and Disposal Policy.
- Relevant technical and organizational controls in place:
Information Security Policy: All data processing is governed by the overarching Information Security Policy, which defines the security baseline for the organization.
Encryption standards: Data is protected using industry-standard encryption: AES-256 for data at rest and TLS 1.2 or higher for data in transit.
Access controls: Access is granted based on the "Principle of Least Privilege" and requires mandatory Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for all systems processing personal data.
Data retention/deletion: Procedures for data lifecycle management are executed in accordance with the Data Retention and Disposal Policy.
These actions are reviewed on a regular basis as part of the management process concerned with privacy and data protection.
