Question 48 - CIPP-E discussion

According to Article 32 of the GDPR, the controller and the processor must implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure a level of security appropriate to the risk of processing personal data, taking into account the state of the art, the costs of implementation, and the nature, scope, context and purposes of processing, as well as the risk of varying likelihood and severity for the rights and freedoms of natural persons. The GDPR also provides some examples of such measures, including the pseudonymisation and encryption of personal data, the ability to ensure the ongoing confidentiality, integrity, availability and resilience of processing systems and services, the ability to restore the availability and access to personal data in a timely manner in the event of a physical or technical incident, and a process for regularly testing, assessing and evaluating the effectiveness of technical and organisational measures for ensuring the security of the processing.

In this scenario, the company is processing personal data of children, such as their voice, questions, preferences, and location, through the connected toys that use a wireless Bluetooth connection to communicate with smartphones, tablets, cloud servers, and other toys. This poses a high risk to the security of the data, as Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology that can be easily intercepted, hacked, or compromised by malicious actors. Therefore, the company should encrypt the data in transit over the Bluetooth connection, to prevent unauthorized access, disclosure, or alteration of the data. Encryption is a process of transforming data into an unreadable form, using a secret key or algorithm, that can only be reversed by authorized parties who have the corresponding key or algorithm. Encryption can protect the data from being accessed or modified by anyone who does not have the key or algorithm, thus ensuring the confidentiality and integrity of the data.

The other options are incorrect because:

B) Including dual-factor authentication before each use by a child in order to ensure a minimum amount of security is not a sufficient measure to protect the data in transit over the Bluetooth connection. Dual-factor authentication is a process of verifying the identity of a user by requiring two pieces of evidence, such as a password and a code sent to a phone or email. While this may enhance the security of the user's account or device, it does not protect the data that is transmitted over the wireless connection, which can still be intercepted, hacked, or compromised by malicious actors. Moreover, dual-factor authentication may not be suitable or convenient for children, who may not have access to a phone or email, or who may forget their passwords or codes.

C) Including three-factor authentication before each use by a child in order to ensure the best level of security possible is not a necessary or proportionate measure to protect the data in transit over the Bluetooth connection. Three-factor authentication is a process of verifying the identity of a user by requiring three pieces of evidence, such as a password, a code sent to a phone or email, and a biometric feature, such as a fingerprint or a face scan. While this may provide a high level of security for the user's account or device, it does not protect the data that is transmitted over the wireless connection, which can still be intercepted, hacked, or compromised by malicious actors. Furthermore, three-factor authentication may not be appropriate or feasible for children, who may not have access to a phone or email, or who may not have reliable biometric features, or who may find the process too complex or cumbersome.

D) Inserting contractual clauses into the contract between the toy manufacturer and the cloud service provider, since South Africa is outside the European Union, is not a relevant measure to protect the data in transit over the Bluetooth connection. Contractual clauses are legal agreements that specify the obligations and responsibilities of the parties involved in a data transfer, such as the level of data protection, the rights of data subjects, and the remedies for breaches. While contractual clauses may be necessary to ensure the compliance of the data transfer to South Africa, which is a non-EU country that does not have an adequacy decision from the European Commission, they do not address the security of the data that is transmitted over the wireless connection, which can still be intercepted, hacked, or compromised by malicious actors. Moreover, contractual clauses are not a technical or organisational measure, but a legal measure, that falls under a different provision of the GDPR, namely Article 46.