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Data Protection Essentials

A practical, globally relevant foundation in data protection for compliance, IT, HR, legal, and management professionals

Role Play

New

Created byCristian Vlad Lupa, rigcert.education

Last updated 5/2026

English

What you'll learn

Understand the core principles of data protection and how they apply in practice
Identify the legal bases for processing personal data and know when each one is appropriate
Recognize and respond to individual rights requests — access, erasure, portability, objection, and more
Apply privacy by design and privacy by default thinking to products, systems, and business processes
Understand the key organizational obligations in data protection — from privacy notices and records of processing to DPIAs and cross-border transfers
Assess the data protection challenges created by artificial intelligence and understand the emerging regulatory response
Build a solid, globally relevant foundation in data protection that applies regardless of jurisdiction or sector

Course content

9 sections • 46 lectures • 4h 58m total length

Introduction4:23
About the course structure and its objectives. Administrative aspects

Why personal data became a regulated asset8:33
How did personal data become so important that it had to be regulated. What was the process
The global regulatory wave6:26
A short history of regulations around data protection around the world. What is the situation of data protection regulation today
What all major laws have in common6:21
Common elements of most data protection legal frameworks around the world

What personal data is5:21
What exactly is personal data? The contexts in which information can become personal data if combined
Special categories of data9:14
Which are the categories of data that require special attention
What processing means6:00
What is covered under the term processing in relation to personal data
Controllers, processors and third parties6:43
The key players in data protection - controllers, processors and third parties. What is the difference and the relationship between controllers and processors
Anonymous vs. pseudonymous data8:52
What is anonymous data and how it differs from pseudonymous data.

Lawfulness, fairness and transparency6:39
Details about the principles of data processing - lawfulness, fairness and transparency
Purpose limitation5:39
What is purpose limitation and why it matters
Data minimization5:27
What represents data minimization and how to implement this principle in practice
Accuracy and storage limitation6:36
Personal data must be kept accurate and storage should be restricted to what is necessary
Information security7:14
Personal data must be kept secure in terms of confidentiality, integrity and availability. How can this be done?
Accountability6:33
The principle that requires organizations to take responsibility for their personal data processing activities

The concept of having a legitimate reason to process data5:12
An explanation of why an organization must have a legitmate reason for every personal data processing activity
Consent — what makes it meaningful, how to obtain and withdraw it6:39
What is consent, how it should be obtained and what represents valid consent
Other justifications for processing7:22
The other legal justifications for processing personal data - contract, legal obligation, legitimate interest, vital interests and public task
Documenting your basis — why it matters6:10
Why its important to document the legal basis for every processing activity. What is the Register of Processing Activities

The right to know what data is held and why6:47
What is the right of individuals to know what personal data is the organization processing. How this right is exercised
Access, correction, and erasure6:30
The rights to access, correct or delete personal data. How individuals can exercise these rights and what organizations are expected to do
Portability and restriction6:49
Details about data portability and the right to request the suspension of personal data processing
Objecting to processing7:21
How can individuals object to the processing of their personal data. In what conditions can this right be exercised
Automated decision-making6:03
The rights about automated decision making. What are the rights of individuals when personal data is processed based solely on automated systems
Handling rights requests in practice6:21
How the organization should handle rights requests in day to day activities.
The Rights Request

Privacy notices — transparency as a requirement6:39
Why privacy notices are important and what information they should include
The Record of Processing Activities (RoPA) — what it is and why it matters6:09
Details about the Record of Processing Activities (RoPA). What information it should include and how it should be elaborated
Assessing privacy risks8:09
About the privacy risk assessment and the data protection impact assessment (DPIA). What is the difference between those and when a DPIA is mandatory
The Data Protection Officer role7:12
About the role of DPO (Data Protection Officer). When is a DPO mandatory and what are the responsibilities of this role
Working with vendors and third parties6:29
Managing relationships with third parties (processors and other controllers). Which aspects should be considered
Transferring data across borders6:47
How personal data can be transferred to other countries and jurisdictions. What mechanisms apply - adequacy decisions, SCCs, BCRs

What privacy by design and privacy by default mean5:10
Generic information about the concepts of privacy by design and privacy by default and how these can be implemented in an organization
The principles of privacy by design5:36
The 7 principles that define the concept of privacy by design. How to implement them in practice
Privacy by default5:52
What is privacy by default and how this concept should be implemented in practice
Practical application: product development, system design, business processes7:03
Some practical examples of how to implement privacy by design and by default in an organization
Data protection impact assessments as a design tool4:06
How to use data protection impact assessment as a design tool. When is the best moment to conduct a DPIA
Making privacy by design and by default a team habit6:19
How can you make privacy by design and privacy by default stick. Which are the methods to make these concepts a reality in an organization

Why AI creates specific data protection challenges?7:45
Which are the key challenges posed by AI on data protection - scale, opacity, inference, data minimization, repurposing, bias and discrimination
Data minimization and purpose limitation in AI7:15
What means data minimization in the context of AI processing and how purpose limitation can be implemented when AI processes personal data
Transparency, explainability and the black box problem6:49
How to make AI data processing transparent. What explainability represents and techniques that can be used
Automated decisions at scale6:49
How can automated decision at scale comply with data protection law. What means meaningful oversight in the context of automated decisions at scale
Consent and legitimate interest when AI is involved7:25
How to ensure valid consent in the context of AI data processing
Where AI and privacy regulation is heading7:22
What is the direction where AI and privacy regulation seems to be going. What to expect in the near future
Closing thoughts5:40
Some closing thoughts about data protection, responsibilities of organizations and what are the benefits of a real commitment to protect personal data
Thank you and good bye3:26
Thank you for taking this course
The case for more attention for data protection
Data Protection Essentials
Bonus lecture4:55

Requirements

No legal background is required — the course is designed to be accessible to professionals from all functions
No technical background is required — concepts are explained in plain language with practical examples
A basic understanding of how organizations collect and use personal data in everyday business activities is helpful but not essential
An interest in data protection, privacy, or compliance is all you need to get started

Description

Why this course matters?

Personal data is now one of the most valuable and most regulated assets in the world. Governments across the globe have enacted data protection legislation, and enforcement is intensifying — with fines reaching hundreds of millions of dollars and reputational damage that no organization can afford to ignore. Yet many professionals who handle personal data every day have never received structured training on what the law actually requires and why.

This course changes that.

About this course

Data Protection Essentials is a structured, globally relevant introduction to data protection — built around the principles, rights, and obligations that run through every major data protection framework in the world.

Unlike courses focused exclusively on one jurisdiction or one regulation, this course takes a principles-based approach. The concepts covered apply regardless of where your organization operates or which specific law governs your activities. The course is designed to remain relevant as legislation evolves — because principles are stable even when specific rules change.

The course is practical and accessible. No legal background is required. No technical background is required. What you need is a willingness to understand how data protection works and why it matters for the work you do every day.

Course structure

The course is organised into eight sections:

The data protection landscape — why data protection law exists, how it spread across the world, and what all major frameworks have in common
Understanding personal data — what personal data is, special categories of sensitive data, the meaning of processing, the roles of controllers and processors, and the distinction between pseudonymous and anonymous data
Core principles — the foundational principles of data protection: lawfulness, fairness and transparency; purpose limitation; data minimization; accuracy and storage limitation; information security and accountability
Legal bases and consent — the legal justifications for processing personal data, how consent works in practice, and how to document your legal basis
Individual rights — the full set of rights that data protection law gives to individuals, including access, rectification, erasure, portability, restriction, objection, and rights around automated decision-making
Organizational obligations — privacy notices, records of processing activities, data protection risk assessments (DPIAs), the Data Protection Officer role, vendor management, and cross-border data transfers
Privacy by design and by default — the principles and practical application of embedding data protection into systems, products, and processes from the start
Privacy in the age of AI — the specific data protection challenges created by artificial intelligence, including transparency, explainability, automated decisions at scale, and the emerging regulatory landscape

What you will be able to do?

By the end of this course you will be able to:

Identify the legal basis for different types of personal data processing
Recognize when individual rights apply and understand how to respond to rights requests
Understand the key organizational obligations under major data protection frameworks
Apply privacy by design thinking to products, systems, and business processes
Assess the data protection implications of AI systems used in your organization
Contribute meaningfully to data protection compliance efforts in any professional role

Who this course is for?

This course is designed for professionals across all functions who handle or make decisions about personal data — including compliance and legal teams, IT and information security professionals, HR and people managers, marketing and analytics teams, and business owners and managers. It is also suitable for students and early-career professionals looking to build a solid foundation in data protection.

Certificate of completion

Upon completion of this course, you will receive a Udemy certificate of completion documenting your training in data protection essentials.

Enroll now and build the data protection foundation your career and your organization need.

Who this course is for:

Compliance and legal professionals
IT and information security professionals
HR and people managers
Marketing and analytics teams
Business owners and managers
Students and early-career professionals
Anyone who handles personal data as part of their work

Data Protection Essentials

What you'll learn

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Course content

Introduction1 lecture • 4min

The data protection landscape3 lectures • 21min

Understanding personal data5 lectures • 36min

Core principles6 lectures • 38min

Legal bases and consent4 lectures • 25min

Individual rights7 lectures • 40min

Organizational obligations6 lectures • 41min

Privacy by design and privacy by default6 lectures • 34min

Data protection in the age of AI10 lectures • 57min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: