Data protection auditing, problematic and challenges

For most Data Protection Authorities and Bodies, effective supervision of the data protection principles and requirements call for strong auditing techniques and methodologies. Living in this new information era a data protection auditor needs special data protection knowledge, constant training with the new information technology tools, and willingness to adapt to the modern world. In order to audit the privacy compliance of data processors within the data protection regime, various Data Protection Authorities and Bodies on an ad-hoc base, have developed appropriate practices, methods and methodologies. In this article a comprehensive presentation of the audit approaches adopted by various Data Protection Authorities and Bodies, along with a detailed review and set criteria useful to create a comparative framework is presented.