JUNE 2026
Personal data protection in GDPR: integrity, confidentiality, and Actalis solutions
GDPR: a cornerstone in the protection of personal data
Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR) establishes the foundations of personal data protection already in Article 5, which sets out the general principles of processing, including integrity and confidentiality, aimed at ensuring data security. In fact, Article 5(1)(f) explicitly states: “Personal data shall be processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security of the personal data, including protection against unauthorized or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction or damage, using appropriate technical or organizational measures (‘integrity and confidentiality’).”
This principle finds concrete application in Article 32, “security of processing”, which requires controllers, including Certification Authorities, and processors to implement technical and organizational measures appropriate to the risk, to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, availability, and resilience of the data being processed.
Why data protection is crucial for a Certification Authority (CA)
Certification Authorities play an essential role in the digital trust model through the issuance of qualified digital certificates that ensure authenticity, encryption, and the signing of communications.
In this context:
- certificates ensure that information is not tampered with or altered thanks to data integrity
- communications (emails, web channels, documents) are protected from unauthorized access thanks to confidentiality
- Technical and organizational measures include robust infrastructures, advanced encryption, certificate issuance and revocation systems, as well as continuous auditing.
Actalis solutions, such as certificates for digital signatures and electronic seals, represent concrete tools to meet these requirements and demonstrate GDPR compliance.
A concrete example: secure email as a standard
In the context of email communications, the GDPR security principle translates into the use of encryption and authentication tools.
Actalis S/MIME certificates allow you to:
- digitally sign messages to ensure authenticity,
- encrypt content to protect confidentiality,
- preserve the integrity of communications.
These solutions ensure an advanced level of protection both technically and from a regulatory standpoint, making business communications secure, traceable, and GDPR-compliant.
Role of Actalis in data protection
As a qualified eIDAS Certification Authority, Actalis contributes to personal data protection and compliance with European regulations by offering:
- SSL/TLS certificates for secure web connections, essential for protecting sensitive data transmitted online;
- digital signature certificates and qualified electronic seals, ensuring integrity and legal enforceability of documents;
- S/MIME solutions for sending encrypted and signed emails, compliant with GDPR.
Conclusion
The principle set out in Article 5(1)(f) of the GDPR requires every actor in the digital chain to actively ensure integrity, confidentiality, and traceability of personal data.
Thanks to qualified digital certificates, secure email solutions, and certified infrastructures, Actalis supports companies and public administrations in complying with European regulations, providing reliable tools for data security and GDPR compliance.