Customer Success Story:
Vlaamse Sportfederatie
Taking privacy to the next level
Piet Vanneste, Privacy & Data Specialist at Vlaamse Sportfederatie (Flemish Sports Federation) sheds light on why RESPONSUM is crucial for ensuring GDPR compliance in the sports industry and how it has been instrumental in raising the bar on privacy standards across the region.
Vlaamse Sportfederatie
Vlaamse Sportfederatie serves as the central governing body for sports federations and sports clubs in Flanders. Interestingly, Flanders boasts a staggering 18,500 clubs, which in turn accounts for an impressive 1.4 million athletes!
“We are very proud that these clubs together with 61 sports federations are part of our umbrella,” says Piet Vanneste. “We provide support and guidance to help them tackle the issues that matter most to them, including concerns that keep them up at night and areas where they can improve. Our ultimate goal is to develop a stronger and more professional sports sector in Flanders.”
Why is privacy important?
Vlaamse Sportfederatie provides a broad range of assistance to sports federations and clubs, including the use of websites, management tools, and various projects to aid them in their daily tasks. Due to their support, Vlaamse Sportfederatie handles a significant amount of personal data belonging to federation staff, club administrators, and volunteers.
As an umbrella organization, they recognize the significance of privacy and data protection in the sports industry. They offer guidance on the proper handling of personal data and work to ensure the privacy of athletes is protected.
Privacy challenges
Their biggest challenge lies in ensuring that not only their organization but also sports federations and sports clubs are aware of privacy and that they handle personal data correctly. Since privacy is not typically considered a standard competency for directors of sports organizations, it is crucial to provide further interpretation and guidance on this topic. Moreover, it is essential to establish a clear and comprehensive privacy policy that applies throughout the entire sports sector.
RESPONSUM's awareness modules enable us to initiate awareness campaigns easily and significantly minimize the impact of human errors.
Enter RESPONSUM
Vanneste emphasizes the significance of building a culture that can withstand cybersecurity threats and prioritize privacy protection: “This is not only necessary to comply with legal obligations but also to prevent any potential security breaches.” To achieve this, Vlaamse Sportfederatie has incorporated the Awareness modules of RESPONSUM, which comprise of phishing simulations and e-learning materials. “These modules enable us to initiate awareness campaigns easily and significantly minimize the impact of human errors,” as per Piet Vanneste’s statement.
According to Vanneste, there were specific aspects of the RESPONSUM software tool that influenced their decision to use it:
- The ease of setting up phishing simulations in RESPONSUM saves a significant amount of time.
- The phishing campaigns can be easily customized to their industry, making them more credible. The content and timing of the campaigns also ensure a greater impact.
- This feature allows them to conduct more frequent training sessions with the aim of creating a lasting impact. As a result, employees can effectively absorb the knowledge in the long run rather than simply taking the test and forgetting.
- Additionally, RESPONSUM enables them to track test results, allowing them to specifically target employees who did not score well and further improve their knowledge.
Conclusion
In light of Vanneste’s testimony, it is clear that the implementation of RESPONSUM has served a dual purpose for Vlaamse Sportfederatie. Not only has it helped the organization enhance privacy awareness, but it has also enabled them to devote more attention and resources towards their core mission of improving the sports sector in Flanders. “The user-friendly and effective nature of the RESPONSUM software tool has been instrumental in achieving this,” says Vanneste. By leveraging the benefits of RESPONSUM, Vlaamse Sportfederatie has been able to make significant strides in both privacy compliance and sector development, making them an inspiring example for other organizations striving to achieve similar goals.
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