This practical module equips participants to recognise personal data breaches and take effective action during the critical first hour. It explores breaches affecting confidentiality, integrity and availability, alongside warning signs such as unusual account activity, misdirected emails, lost devices and compromised mailboxes.

Participants will learn how to report and escalate suspected breaches, activate the response team, document initial findings and contain incidents while preserving evidence. A realistic case study reinforces the coordination required between the DPO, IT security, legal, communications and management.

By the end of the module, learners will be able to prioritise immediate response actions, limit further exposure and maintain a clear incident log to support investigation and subsequent decisions.

Detecting & Containing Data Breaches

Test of Understanding – Detecting & Containing Data Breaches

This course equips participants with the practical skills to assess personal data breaches and determine the appropriate notification and communication actions. Participants will explore how data sensitivity, security safeguards, affected individuals, exposure and containment influence the risk of harm.

Using practical scenarios, learners will distinguish between incidents requiring internal documentation, notification to the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), and communication to affected individuals. The course covers notification timelines, preparing clear breach notices, submitting information in phases, and maintaining records of decisions and actions.

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

Assess the potential impact of a breach on affected individuals.

Determine the appropriate notification response.

Prepare regulatory notifications and clear, actionable messages.

Coordinate escalation and maintain a documented decision trail.

Data Breach Assessment & Notification

Test of Understanding — Data Breach Assessment & Notification

This course equips participants with the practical skills to recover from personal data breaches, review incident responses and implement improvements that reduce the likelihood of recurrence. Participants will learn how to maintain incident logs, preserve evidence, update breach registers and restore operations securely.

Through worked examples and a scenario-based tabletop exercise, learners will explore root-cause analysis, evaluate what worked and identify gaps in people, processes and technology. The course emphasises a blame-free review approach, assigning corrective actions to named owners, setting deadlines and testing fixes before closure.

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

Maintain complete incident records and supporting evidence.

Identify root causes and evaluate response effectiveness.

Develop corrective actions with clear responsibilities and deadlines.

Verify remediation and update relevant policies, risk assessments and training.

