The Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG) is Germany’s national legislation governing the processing of personal data. It complements the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and establishes additional provisions specific to Germany. The BDSG ensures the protection of individuals' personal data and sets out the responsibilities of organizations in handling this information.
The BDSG applies to:
- Private Sector Organizations: Companies, associations, and other entities that process personal data in Germany.
- Public Sector Entities: Federal, state, and municipal authorities that handle personal data.
- Data Processors: Entities that process personal data on behalf of others, such as service providers or contractors.
(Note: The BDSG does not apply to the processing of personal data by individuals in their personal or household activities.)
BDSG Guidelines
- Organizations that process large amounts of personal data, process special categories of data, or are public authorities are required to appoint a data protection officer.
- Personal data must be processed based on legal grounds, such as consent, contract necessity, or legal obligations. Consent must be clear, informed, and revocable.
- Individuals have the right to access their personal data, request corrections, and request deletion or restriction of processing. Organizations must respond to these requests within specified time frames.
- Organizations must conduct DPIAs when processing operations are likely to result in high risks to individuals' rights and freedoms.
- Organizations must clearly inform individuals about how their data is collected, used, and shared. Privacy notices must be comprehensive and understandable.
- Adequate technical and organizational measures must be implemented to protect personal data from unauthorized access, loss, or damage.
- Organizations must notify the relevant supervisory authority and affected individuals of data breaches that threaten individuals' rights and freedoms.
- If personal data is transferred outside the European Economic Area (EEA), organizations must ensure that the recipient country provides adequate protection or uses appropriate safeguards.
How Finite State Helps You Comply with BDSG
Finite State can complement your data protection efforts by strengthening your data security capabilities, particularly by:
- Enforcing Secure Coding Practices: Seamless integrations into existing CI/CD pipelines automatically analyze source code and compiled binaries for common security vulnerabilities and coding errors. This allows engineers to identify vulnerabilities hidden deep within legacy code and third-party libraries and detect and address issues early in the development process.
- Real-Time Threat Detection: Integrations with vulnerability databases provide up-to-date information on the latest threats and exploits, allowing for the proactive identification of potential risks before they can be exploited.
- Automate Vulnerability Identification: Using our advanced binary and source code SCA, vulnerabilities can be identified as they’re introduced across the SDLC to help teams keep applications secure.
- Comprehensive SBOM Solutions: Automatically generate Software Bill of Materials throughout the SDLC and easily compile detailed information on all components in your products, including open-source libraries, third-party dependencies, and custom code to improve transparency and identify potential security risks in your software supply chain.
Strong cybersecurity requires a collective effort. Talk to the team today to discover how Finite State can help you comply with BDSG.