Data protection at Industry 4.0 – GvW Graf von Westphalen drafts the guideline for the VDMA

Industry 4.0 confronts businesses with many new challenges.  A central issue is data protection which is becoming increasingly more important as a result of spreading digitalization and automation. The VDMA (Association of German Machinery and Construction) has reacted and has now published a guideline on data protection for Industry 4.0 for the association’s member companies. The association secured competent support from the well-known GvW IT practice of the Frankfurt partner Stephan Menzemer for the preparation of this guideline.

The guideline is supposed to sensitize managing directors and data protection managers in the machinery construction industry for the increased need of customers and users for protection with regard to their personal data. The guideline also provides orientation for current data protection issues, especially with regard to specific Industry 4.0 topics. Network systems, automated processes which are dependent on data, cloud services and big data must be examined and, if necessary, there must be an adjustment of the data protection strategy in the company.

The VDMA which is located in Frankfurt represents more than 3,100 primarily mid-size businesses in the investment goods industry and, therefore, is the leading industrial association in Europe. Machinery and plant construction is the largest industrial employer in Germany; many German customers are among the international leaders in the worldwide market.

The IT specialists at GvW, in addition to their full services offering in the area of information technology, are specialized in the development of data protection strategies for companies that have to work with sensitive customer data and other personal data. The clients of the law include prominent providers and users of IT solutions, including numerous companies in the production industry.