Data Protection

Data discovery in GDPR compliance

Read this article to find out how data discovery can help you find relevant data in Hubspot, Mailchimp, etc., and thus prepare it for GDPR documentation.

author
Dr. Kilian Schmidt
date
Updated on
10.7.2025
Data discovery in GDPR compliance
  • Data discovery helps identify and understand data
  • Compliance with laws such as GDPR and CCPA requires full control over data processing and storage
  • Tool & Data Discovery assigns company data to legal requirements
  • Continuous monitoring with smart tools ensures compliance with data protection requirements

Data discovery: What is it?

Ensuring data protection and regulatory compliance is paramount for every company.

Data Protection Officer (DPO) and legal advisors are tasked with the difficult task of managing data silos, processing activities, and IT infrastructures while ensuring compliance with numerous legal regulations. As part of their work, they are often involved with Data Discovery Entrusted. Data Discovery Is the process of identifying, investigating, and understanding data within an organization to gain insights and increase business value.

Data discovery: legal requirements

Compliance with data protection laws such as General Data Protection Regulation, which GDPR, and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) Is not only a moral obligation, but a legal necessity.

These laws require companies to Comprehensive understanding of where their data is stored, how it is processed and who has access to it.

Failure to comply with these regulations can result in heavy fines, legal action, and irreparable damage to a company's reputation. Tool & Data Discovery is a crucial component in meeting legal requirements. It is about identifying all tools and data sources within a company and assigning them to the appropriate legal requirements.

How it works: Data Discovery Process

1. Take stock of all available data

First, carry out a comprehensive inventory of all data stored in your company. This includes Not only structured data stored in databases, but also unstructured data stored in files, emails, and other documents. (The easiest way is to create a data table that shows where all types of data in your organization are stored.)

2. Identify data processing activities

Once you have a comprehensive inventory of data, you should Identify all data processing activities within your organization. This includes not only the collection and storage of data, but also its processing, sharing, and disposal.

3. Assignment of data to legal requirements

After all data processing activities have been identified, Align them with the appropriate legal requirements. This includes determining the legal basis for each data processing activity and ensuring compliance with applicable laws.

4. Implementation of measures to reduce risks

Identify potential risks associated with any data processing activity, and Introduce measures to reduce risks. This includes the implementation of technical and organizational measures to ensure data security.

5. Continuous monitoring and reporting

Implement a continuous monitoring and reporting process to ensure ongoing compliance with regulatory requirements. This includes the regular review and update Your data inventory, data processing activities and risk mitigation measures.

Conclusion on data discovery

Tool & Data Discovery is crucial for complying with legal requirements and ensuring data protection. While it's possible to do this process manually, Kertos offers a comprehensive and automated solution that ensures regulatory compliance without compromise.

By using automated data discovery with Kertos, companies can ensure compliance with legal requirements, minimize risks, and protect their reputation. Learn more about the Kertos Tool & data discovery function.

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Data discovery in GDPR compliance
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Dr. Kilian Schmidt

Dr. Kilian Schmidt

CEO & Co-Founder, Kertos GmbH

Dr. Kilian Schmidt developed a strong interest in legal processes early on. After studying law, he began his career as Senior Legal Counsel and Data Protection Officer at the Home24 Group. After working at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, he moved to TIER Mobility, where, as General Counsel, he was significantly involved in expanding the legal and public policy department - and grew the company from one to 65 cities and from 50 to 800 employees. Motivated by limited technological advances in the legal sector and inspired by his consulting work at Gorillas Technologies, he co-founded Kertos to develop the next generation of European data protection technology.

About Kertos

Kertos is the modern backbone of the data protection and compliance activities of scaling companies. We enable our customers to implement integrated data protection and information security processes in accordance with GDPR, ISO 27001, TISAX®, SOC2 and many other standards quickly and cheaply through automation.

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