In the previous post I mentioned password protecting/encrypting a document or spreadsheet containing personal information. It sounds complicated, but it really isn’t.
If you use Microsoft Word or Excel, the steps are very similar.
In this example, we have a Word document with a list of people
1) Click File on the Ribbon at the top.
2 ) On the info section (should be already selected for you), Click Protect Document and then click Encrypt with Password (there are other options but this is all you need for the basics).
3) Enter a password and click OK
4) Enter the password again and click OK
Job done. The only way someone is getting in to this document is with a password. That is reasonably protecting personal data in 4 steps. The same basic 4 steps can also be done in Excel.
IMPORTANT: DO NOT COMMUNICATE THAT PASSWORD IN THE EMAIL YOU USE TO SEND THIS DOCUMENT. Use a different method such as SMS or a phone call to let the other person know the password.
As you can see, you can tick a big box in GDPR compliance just by getting people to take 4 steps that take less than a minute to complete. A lot easier than the alternatives!
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