Data protection of the highest quality
Blog | Security
Do you work with a company that processes business and personal data? If so, you can rest assured that they meet the highest standards of information and privacy security and have optimized their processes and procedures accordingly. You can feel confident that you are working with a reliable partner when you choose a company that is certified by standards such as ISO 27001, ISO 27701, and NEN 7510. These are exactly the standards that we, as Fellow Digitals, adhere to, as confirmed by our re-certification audit in April 2023.
As an international supplier of digital workplace solutions, Fellow Digitals has always taken data and information protection very seriously. Within the European Union, the legislation on personal data has become increasingly strict in recent years. This includes the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which came into effect in May 2018. Unlike many countries outside the EU, European countries are held to a high standard of data protection. When the GDPR legislation was announced, Fellow Digitals began preparing to comply with the latest information security requirements of ISO 27001 and NEN 7510.
In March 2022, we successfully added ISO 27701 for the enhanced protection of organizations’ privacy data, extending the already implemented information security requirements of ISO 27001. As we continue to meet these requirements, it is transparent to customers which information and privacy security protocols and associated processes Fellow Digitals uses. This quality mark also means that if a security incident does occur, it can be resolved in a targeted manner and according to the established protocols as part of our systematic Privacy and Information Security Management System (PIMS).
For greater security and transparency
Many people are familiar with the ISO quality standards. For decades, these highly regarded criteria have been accepted worldwide in various industries. When a company implements this type of certification, the organization is checked by an external auditing institution for the correctness and in-depth application of these standards. By achieving ISO 27001 certification, Fellow Digitals demonstrates the following:
Careful handling of data at all levels
Compliance with laws and regulations
Be a credible and professional company
Employ employees with an adequate level of knowledge of information security
Reduce the likelihood of risks and incidents
Personal data security at its best
Fellow Digital’s ISO 27701 certificate, which complements ISO 27001, is further evidence of:
Enhanced compliance with global privacy protection regulations
Protection of the privacy and processing of individuals’ data
In addition to information and data security, Fellow Digitals is particularly concerned with transparency. Rick Tigelaar, Director Operations at Fellow Digitals, observes:
“Fellow Digitals has been around since 1997, but we are still a small and flexible team with offices in the Netherlands, Germany, and Bangladesh. This sometimes led to a lack of clarity about who does what. Over the past years, we have made great strides in streamlining processes and embedding quality requirements around information and privacy security.”
A clear division of roles means that certain rights are handled carefully internally. As a result, only people involved in certain processes have access to the relevant data. This reduces the risk of data leakage.
NEN 7510
Besides the international ISO 27001 certificate, Fellow Digitals also complies with the NEN 7510 certificates since 2019. While ISO focuses on international standardization, NEN focuses mainly on the Dutch market.
If you put the two certificates side by side, they are largely the same. However, there is one difference. While the ISO 27001 certificate covers ‘general’ information protection, the NEN 7510 focuses specifically on the protection of medical data. Rick Tigelaar explains:
“The combination of the two certifications is a very good one. Because we already have customers like HAweb and Municipal Health Service Zuid-Limburg who manage specific personal medical data, we felt it was important to comply with these guidelines as well.”
The procedure
You cannot obtain certificates as a company on your own. It is important to focus on adapting your processes. That is why we have chosen to be supported in setting up the processes by the ISO and NEN quality guidelines. Bureau Kader, an approved partner of recognized certification bodies, supervises Fellow Digitals. Rick Tigelaar remembers the start of the collaboration with enthusiasm:
“The knowledge and experience of the Kader team helped us through the long process. We have since appreciated their professional guidance during the certification processes for Fellow Digitals.”
The external audits are carried out by KIWA. As an accreditation authority, KIWA is able to check the processes and the application of the quality guidelines and to issue an ISO and NEN certificate on this basis. The various audits that have taken place have convinced KIWA that Fellow Digitals has its internal organization in order and that it meets the quality requirements in accordance with ISO 27001, ISO 27701, and NEN 7510. During the latest re-certification, Fellow Digital was assured that they can be particularly proud of the combination of ISO 27001 and 277001.
The future
As always, Fellow Digitals will continue to work hard to ensure the safety of its users. In fact, Fellow Digitals is already working on its next certificate. “The ISO 9001 and ISO 27017 quality marks could be our next goals,” says Rick Tigelaar. The ISO 9001 is perhaps the best-known international certificate. This certification looks at a company’s quality management systems, while ISO 27017 is a security standard for cloud service providers. These goals are yet another proof of Fellow Digitals’ commitment to product quality and security.
A good and secure platform that all users can use with peace of mind, these are the core values that Fellow Digitals has stood for for more than 25 years. With ISO and NEN certifications, (potential) customers can be even more confident that their sensitive information is in good hands when using Fellow Digitals.
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