dpia-mitigation-plan

DPIA Mitigation Planning

Overview

Article 35(7)(d) GDPR requires a DPIA to include "the measures envisaged to address the risks, including safeguards, security measures and mechanisms to ensure the protection of personal data and to demonstrate compliance with this Regulation." This skill provides a structured mitigation planning framework.

Mitigation Strategy Categories

Technical Measures

Category	Examples	GDPR Reference
Encryption	At-rest, in-transit, end-to-end	Art. 32(1)(a)
Pseudonymisation	Tokenisation, hashing, key-coded	Art. 25(1), Art. 32(1)(a)
Access controls	RBAC, MFA, privileged access management	Art. 32(1)(b)
Data minimisation	Field-level reduction, aggregation, sampling	Art. 5(1)(c), Art. 25(1)
Anonymisation	k-anonymity, differential privacy, generalisation	Recital 26
Monitoring	SIEM, DLP, anomaly detection	Art. 32(1)(d)

Organisational Measures

Category	Examples	GDPR Reference
Policies	Data protection policy, acceptable use	Art. 24(2)
Training	Privacy awareness, role-specific training	Art. 39(1)(b)
Contracts	DPAs, joint controller arrangements, NDAs	Art. 28, Art. 26
Audits	Internal audits, processor audits, certification	Art. 28(3)(h)
Governance	DPO oversight, privacy committee, RACI	Art. 37-39
Incident response	Breach procedures, notification protocols	Art. 33-34

Mitigation Plan Structure

For each identified risk:

1. Risk reference -- Link to DPIA risk register entry
2. Inherent risk level -- Before mitigation
3. Proposed measures -- Specific technical and organisational controls
4. Implementation owner -- Accountable person
5. Implementation deadline -- Target completion date
6. Verification method -- How effectiveness will be confirmed
7. Residual risk level -- After planned mitigation
8. Acceptance decision -- Within appetite / escalation required / prior consultation

Residual Risk Decision Framework

Residual Risk LOW → Accept; document; routine monitoring
Residual Risk MEDIUM → Accept with enhanced monitoring; annual review
Residual Risk HIGH → Escalate to senior management; consider additional measures
Residual Risk VERY HIGH → Art. 36 prior consultation required before processing

Implementation Tracking

Each mitigation measure progresses through:

• Proposed -- Identified but not yet approved
• Approved -- Budget and resources allocated
• In Progress -- Implementation underway
• Implemented -- Deployed and operational
• Verified -- Effectiveness confirmed through testing