Cogniware: GDPR Explorer - Cognitive Approach to Compliance

Jan Racko, Co-founder and CEO

GDPR came into effect on May 25, 2018, many companies were, and still are, rushing to put their new data processes in place. As such, acknowledging the value of data and rethinking data management has become the need of the hour for organizations to stay compliant with the new directive and avoid massive fines. However, the path to systematic and efficient use of data is often not easy to find and typically endures a high effort threshold. Understanding these challenges well, Czech Republic-based Cogniware has emerged as a champion for data-intensive businesses to address their GDPR related complicacies.

Cogniware has a rich history of delivering solutions focused on understanding unstructured data and offering complex security analysis for national security organizations. “We have been able to put this extensive experience to use today through Cogniware GDPR Explorer and help companies wade through their data protection setbacks,” says Jan Racko, co-founder and CEO of Cogniware.

He further explains that the core of solving any organization’s data protection challenge is simple: “It starts by finding and categorizing sensitive data.” This data can include sensitive agreements protected by NDAs, manufacturing guidelines of a company, and design papers, “all containing sensitive information that should be kept under control” Racko emphasizes.

Unfortunately, most organizations, in their pursuit to resolve GDPR-related issues quickly, are seen making superfluous investments. Cogniware has taken their time to thoroughly understand the regulation by consulting with data protection officers, lawyers, and business owners to build a solution that is transparent and efficient. “Our value proposition lies in our ability to connect all the siloed data sources of an organization and recognize sensitive information that needs to be protected,” states Racko.

Solving GDPR and protecting all your sensitive information at once with natural language processing and machine learning–GDPR Explorer

Once GDPR Explorer analysis all the records from the relevant systems (email servers, databases, enterprise systems, document storages and more) it creates a full catalog of sensitive data including personal information. Suddenly data protection with GDPR compliance becomes possible. Alongside, the solution’s alerting module continuously notifies of any sensitive information out of place or out of time. DPOs and security manager scan constantly track the sensitive data and GDPR related processes through GDPR Explorer’s 360-degree view dashboard and check if all the GDPR obligations are covered. At the end of each process responding to request for data erasure, correction, portability, etc. the DPO generates PDF statement, which serves as a final response to the data subject (customer). Coupled with that, GDPR Explorer is equipped to show detailed records of individuals and supports minimization of the information stored. “With retention policies that trigger notifications, you can always keep the information stored for the right amount of time and in a secured places only,” he explains.

Cogniware’s growing footprint in the GDPR compliance management landscape is a fitting testament to its cost-effective and transparent data management approach. Citing a few examples, Racko mentions that Cogniware has efficiently helped companies like Prague Casting Services (a precision casting foundry) and Houston Analytics (an IT company) to overcome their GDPR challenges. Increasingly, the veracity of Cogniware’s GDPR solution is also making its way into countries outside the EU (like the U.S.). To seize such opportunities further, Cogniware is constantly enhancing its algorithms to further increase the accuracy of personal information recognition. “In a nutshell, we aim to redefine the approach to GDPR compliance and emerge as a major game-changer in the business landscape.”