Data privacy and information security

Safeguarding data is one of our most important responsibilities in building and maintaining trust, not only with our people, but also with our clients and other partners. We are continually evolving our approach to information security and data protection, identifying emerging threats and driving appropriate behavior to prevent and mitigate attacks. For example, we expanded the oversight of the Audit Committee of our Board of Directors to include our information technology risk exposures, including cybersecurity, data privacy and data security.

Everyone at Accenture has a personal responsibility to practice effective and responsible data management in accordance with our company policies, including our Data Privacy Policy and procedures, as well as new and changing global regulations and jurisprudence.

• We adhere to the highest and strictest information protection and privacy standards for handling and protecting personal data as evidenced by our global certifications for Information Security (ISO 27001:2013) and Data Privacy (ISO 27701:2019). These certifications acknowledge that Accenture complies with the highest, strictest standards for handling and protecting personal data everywhere, and demonstrates accountability. We were the first global organization to be ISO® 27701-certified by the British Standards Institution (BSI) globally across both our Enterprise and Client Service Business.
• We work hard to uphold global data protection and privacy requirements like the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the United Kingdom’s GDPR and Data Protection Act, U.S. state privacy legislation, Brazil’s Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados Pessoais (LGPD) and many more.
• Both our Enterprise and Client Data Protection program define the stewardship of Accenture and client information. It has defined our management processes and controls in accordance with relevant information protection and privacy laws. BSI has rated us as a “Role Model” (the highest rating) for all U.S. National Institute of Standards/U.S. Department of Commerce Cyber Security Framework (CSF) categories. Periodic independent assessments by BSI continue for maintenance and re-certification purposes.
• We outperformed our peer groups in top-tier, third-party security benchmarking and endorsements:
• CIS Controls: Maintains at or above its peers and industry verticals in all 20 categories, validated by Verizon Security Services.
• Cyber Essentials Plus certification: Awarded as required by the National Cyber Security Centre for suppliers to the United Kingdom.
• NIST CSF: Role Model across all 23 categories, highest-possible benchmark rating.