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Originally published on the CORDIS, the EU portal for research results, online magazine of December 2020/January 2021: https://cordis.europa.eu/article/id/428769-data-protection-new-technologies-to-protect-privacy Many microenterprises in Europe seem to be missing the GDPR compliance train, with potentially disastrous consequences for their future. The SMOOTH project has developed an easy-to-use and affordable solution that will help them assess and improve their…

The project SMOOTH is ending on January 31, 2021.  The project set out to develop tools that can help small businesses be compliant with GDPR and help them make the best of their data processing. We have spoken with Mr David Caro, President of the European Small Business Alliance (ESBA). A partner in the SMOOTH…

Register for the event here: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/8276523612739346702 The adoption of the GDPR by micro-enterprises (MENTs) effortlessly, without incurring unnecessary or unaffordable costs, is vital to the EU global economy and constitutes the high-level objective of the SMOOTH project. Research suggests that micro-enterprises often lack resources in terms of time, finance, people, and knowledge to properly understand…

Business-to-business activities are at the core of many value chains and are often an essential part of what allows consumers to enjoy services and products fit for their needs. In fact, there is a quite a significant number of companies that specialise in providing services aimed at other companies, to help them deliver to consumers.…

Recently, the “Radar Covid” app developed by the Spanish government to monitor the spread of the virus in the country had problems relating to the security of users’ data, allowing third parties to trace those who downloaded the app and contracted the COVID-19 virus. SMOOTH’ researchers have helped to discover these vulnerabilities in Radar Covid…

Our series dedicated to entrepreneurs who have been successfully supported by the SMOOTH pilots continues with an interview with Sabina Guaylupo, a trained lawyer, legal consultant and co-founder of MyDataMood, a European data platform that allows citizens to take control of their data and to share them with companies, making the relationship between companies and…

About Cookies We often hear about website cookies that track users on websites. What are they? There is nothing really mysterious about them: they are text files with small pieces of data — like a username and password — that are used to identify your computer as you use a computer network. They are used…

Today we are joined by Alexandre Pereda-Baños, the Senior Researcher of Eurecat working on the data analysis of SMOOTH. Eurecat is one of the SMOOTH project partners, and Alexandre is a senior analyst in charge of perception and cognition research. Alexandre has joined us to delve with us in how GDPR compliance can really help…

We are kicking off our new series dedicated to entrepreneurs who have been successfully supported by the SMOOTH pilots in assessing and implementing their data security and privacy needs. Our first entrepreneurs, who joins us today for an interview, is Peter Pongracz, CEO of B&P Enterprises s.r.o. and Co-Founder of Auream, two Slovakian small businesses…

Today we are joined by Thomas Wilczek, the Project Manager for SMOOTH at FundingBox, one of the SMOOTH project partners, and an expert in funding opportunities provided by European and international institutions for small business and start-ups in Europe. Thomas has agreed to join us today to let us know his insights about how SMOOTH…

As a micro-enterprise you are close to your clients and trust and confidence are key in your relationship with them. Thanks to these relationships, your clients and your entrepreneurship, you and other European small and medium-sized enterprises add more than 20% of value to the European economy [1], for a total amount of 1,525 trillion…

Most of the small European companies store their operational data using different databases. Those databases can start from a simple Excel file in a physical shop that only needs the contacts of its providers, but they can also be complex MySQL structures, a Relational Database Management server which manages many databases at the same time.…

Well, that is exactly why they call the “I read and accept” the biggest lie on the web. Research has shown that if an average American would read all the privacy policies of websites she visits, she would spend 244 hours a year just doing that [1]. Even more, to do so, you need an…

Several months have passed since the General Data Protection Regulation  (GDPR) has been implemented and you probably already know what it is. But, how is your company doing regarding it?  What does the GDPR really represent? GDPR redefines how data should be collected, stored and shared across every sector, from healthcare to banking and beyond,…

  All of us have been at least once frustrated by the fact that every website we visit requires us to click on a consent or cookie dialog and pop-ups. Cookies are a technology used for decades to allow websites to offer a more personalized user experience (UX), to authenticate users and also to analyze…

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) with its implementation date, 25 May 2018, was the source of concerns among Latvians. The worries were partially due to prejudice concerning the minimum activities permitted. Most of the people thoughts every kind of data processing would be prohibited under the new data protection rules. Here is a series…

The presence of organisations on the internet is constantly increasing and micro-enterprises are not an exception. There are many micro-enterprises providing their services online; from traditional businesses undertaking a digital transformation, to tech start-ups born in the digital age. However, due to the lack of resources, many micro-companies struggle with the General Data Protection Regulation…

Communities are the way forward for organisations to build and maintain relationships with key stakeholders.They are also the place to get support and inspiration from peers, and to access exclusive content and Q&As with experts. This is what we believe, and to make this happen we count on an expert in online communities. Therefore, the  SMOOTH…

Modern mobile platforms host a wide range of personal and sensitive information about the user that can reveal that user’s identity, social interactions, and even locations visited. Because of the sensitivity of this data, the Android operating system protects access to sensitive resources through a permission model, which should be granted by the user to…

The citizens of the European Union (EU) have demonstrated serious concerns regarding the management of personal information by online services. The 2015 Eurobarometer about data protection reveals that: 53% of EU citizens do not like that Internet companies use their personal information in tailored advertising. The EU reacted to citizens’ concerns with the approval of…

A new era for data protection The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) marked a new era for the digital economy and the protection of personal data in the EU. The data privacy overhaul sought to respond to the privacy concerns presented by the digital age. What emerged was a robust regulation imposing extensive responsibilities on companies…