Surveillance Tools for UK Data Privacy Compliance

New legislation around data privacy – the Data Protection & Digital Information Bill (2) – is currently going through Parliament. It aims to ‘update and simplify the UK’s data protection framework’. Here’s what you need to know and a look at some of the surveillance tools within Synergy that will help you comply.

GDPR isn’t going away, neither are privacy obligations

UK GDPR will still exist, but the new legislation will make changes and clarifications. For example, the Surveillance Camera Commissioner’s post and the Surveillance Camera Code of Practice are likely to go, with oversight of police and local authority use of surveillance transferred to the Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s Office (IPCO). There is also a commitment to easing the “administrative burden” on private organisations utilising surveillance.

None of the changes outlined detract from the core principle that privacy should be protected unless it is in the public interest not to do so. And that means ensuring any data that can identify a person – from video footage and reports to biometric information – is handled carefully.

Remove what isn’t relevant

IP cameras are an essential surveillance tool, but they also capture images of people who aren’t relevant to investigations. With our Cloud Evidence Locker, natively supported in Synergy, an AI-enabled facial redaction tool lets operators mask sensitive data before sharing evidence securely, aiding collaboration without compromising privacy.

While not strictly a privacy tool, it is also worth highlighting that integrated video analytics can be used to rapidly search footage to highlight only the frames containing persons of interest. This is useful for evidence requests that may span a specific time period.

Restrict access to data and functionality

Synergy security and surveillance software logs all user activity for fully transparent audit trails to prove privacy has been respected. It also allows you to restrict access to key data and system functionality via granular permission settings based on factors such as job role or clearance level. This might be limiting access to particular cameras or incident footage.

It’s vital to consider your maintenance set-up when it comes to permissions. For instance, engineers should have access to IP camera recording incidents, i.e., fault logs, but not to actual footage or login credentials that could allow them to view video footage.

Deal with Data Subject Access Requests

You’ll still need to have very good grounds to deny data subject access requests (DSARs). So, having the ability to generate reports quickly and, if necessary, remove data held on an individual is important. This will also help public sector organisations with Freedom of Information requests, which will remain unchanged. 

If a member of the public requests that data about them be deleted in line with the right to be forgotten (and it is a legitimate request), Synergy can scan all incident reports for the name of the individual in question and redact the relevant details.

Watch the on-demand webinar – Get to Know Synergy's Privacy Features to learn more.