VeSBUD Data Protection

Data Protection

Data Protection

Last updated:

July 2022

Definitions

is the abbreviation for the research project entitled ‘Very Small and Small Businesses and Urban Development’, funded by the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Information (H.F.R.I.).

means EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (2016/679).

means the Hellenic Data Protection Authority. 

means Prof. Athanasios Kalogeresis, Principal Investigator of the VeSBUD research project and responsible for data protection. You may contact Prof. Kalogeresis via email (kaloger@plandevel.auth.gr) or in written format in the following address: Main Building (2nd floor), Faculty of Engineering, 54124, Thessaloniki.

As of May 25, 2018, the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR – 2016/679) is in force, enhancing the framework for the protection of data subjects with regard to the processing of personal data in the European Union. The VeSBUD Project, with respect to personal data, complies with the GDPR in the context of its activities and applies the appropriate technical and organizational measures for the effective protection of personal data, in accordance with its responsibilities under the GDPR.

1. Data protection principles

GDPR requires that personal data shall be:

  1. processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner in relation to the data subject (‘lawfulness, fairness and transparency’);
  2. collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes and not further processed in a manner that is incompatible with those purposes; further processing for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes shall, in accordance with Article 89(1), not be considered to be incompatible with the initial purposes (‘purpose limitation’);
  3. adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which they are processed (‘data minimisation’);
  4. accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date; every reasonable step must be taken to ensure that personal data that are inaccurate, having regard to the purposes for which they are processed, are erased or rectified without delay (‘accuracy’);
  5. kept in a form which permits identification of data subjects for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the personal data are processed; personal data may be stored for longer periods insofar as the personal data will be processed solely for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes in accordance with Article 89(1) subject to implementation of the appropriate technical and organisational measures required by this Regulation in order to safeguard the rights and freedoms of the data subject (‘storage limitation’);
  6. processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security of the personal data, including protection against unauthorised or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction or damage, using appropriate technical or organisational measures (‘integrity and confidentiality’).

2. General provisions

  1. This policy applies to all personal data processed by the VeSBUD Project.
  2. The Data Controller shall take responsibility for the VeSBUD Project’s ongoing compliance with this policy.
  3. This policy will be reviewed at least once every year.

3. Lawful, fair and transparent processing

Individuals have the right to access their personal data and any such requests made to the Data Controller shall be dealt with in a timely manner. Precisely, they have the following rights regarding their data: 

  • They may at any time be informed by the Data Controller of and access to their personal data.
  • They have the right to request the correction of the data that is inaccurate or incomplete.
  • They can ask for their personal data to be deleted, except if there is a legal obligation to retain them.
  • They can request the interruption or limitation of the processing in case they disagree with the way of processing their data.
  • They have the right to withdraw their consent to process their data at any time.

4. Lawful purposes

  1. All data processed by the VeSBUD Project must be done on one of the following lawful bases: consent, contract, legal obligation, vital interests, public task or legitimate interests.
  2. Where consent is relied upon as a lawful basis for processing data, evidence of opt-in consent shall be kept with the personal data.
  3. Where communications are sent to individuals based on their consent, the option for the individual to revoke their consent should be clearly available and systems should be in place to ensure such revocation is reflected accurately in the VeSBUD Project’s systems.

5. Data minimisation

The VeSBUD Project shall ensure that personal data are adequate, relevant, and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which they are processed. 

In this context, the processing that takes place concerns the personal data you provide when you visit our website and interact with us, for example by sending a contact form.

Such personal data is:

  • Identification data (Full Name)
  • Communication data (email address) 

In the event that processing is based on consent, we follow all the relevant procedures provided by the GDPR.

6. Security

  1. All personal data in electronic format (e-mails, documents, databases, uploaded batches of data, etc.) are stored on the servers of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
  2. The VeSBUD Project shall ensure that personal data is stored securely using modern software that is kept-up-to-date. 
  3. Access to personal data shall be limited to the Data Controller and members of the research team who need access and appropriate security should be in place to avoid unauthorized sharing of information.
  4. Personal data will be kept in the project’s database for four (4) years from the collection date.
  5. When personal data is deleted, this should be done safely such that the data is irrecoverable.
  6. Appropriate backup and disaster recovery solutions shall be in place.

7. Recording of data on the website

Cookies

In some cases, our website and its pages use the so-called ‘cookies’. By using cookies, we aim to provide a more user-friendly, effective, and secure experience when visiting our website.

Cookies do not cause any damage to your computer and do not contain viruses. They are small text files that are placed on your computer and stored by your browser.

What kind of cookies do we use?

Strictly Necessary Cookies: These cookies are necessary to experience our website efficiently. Acceptance of all cookies is not necessary for visiting our website. You can delete or block access to these cookies, but if you do certain sites’ features may not work well. 

3rd Party Cookies: This website uses Google Analytics to collect anonymous information, such as the number of visitors, and the most popular pages. Keeping this cookie enabled helps in the improvement of the website.

The cookie-related information is not used to personally identify you and we have absolute control of the data. Cookies are not used for purposes other than those described on this page. 

The cookies required for the performance of the electronic communications transaction are stored on the basis of Art. 6 Sect. 1 lit. f GDPR. The website operator has a legitimate interest in storing cookies to ensure the technically error-free and optimized provision of the operator’s services. If other cookies (e.g. cookies for the analysis of your browsing patterns) should be stored, they are addressed separately in this Data Protection Declaration.

Server log files

The provider of this website and its pages automatically collects and stores information in so-called server log files, which your browser communicates to us automatically. The information could be:

  • Type and version of browser used
  • Used operating system
  • Referrer URL
  • The hostname of the accessing computer
  • Time of the server inquiry
  • IP address

8. Archiving / removal

  1. To ensure that personal data is kept for no longer than necessary, the VeSBUD Project shall put in place an archiving policy for each area in which personal data is processed and review this process whenever deemed necessary.
  2. The archiving policy shall consider what data should/must be retained, for how long, and why.

9. Breach

In the event of a breach of security leading to the accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorized disclosure of, or access to, personal data, the Data Controller shall promptly assess the risk to people’s rights and freedoms and if appropriate report this breach to the DPA (more information on the DPA website).

END OF POLICY