Who we are

The Cyprus Certification Company (CyCert) is a Certification Body founded in 2001 and operating as a private company with the Government being its sole shareholder. It is managed by a 7-member Board, comprising of representatives from the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Energy, Commerce, Industry and Tourism as well as from the Cyprus Employers and Industrialist Federation (OEB), the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KEBE), the Technical Chamber (ETEK), the Consumer’s Association and the Academic Community.

The Cyprus Certification Company constitutes today one of the most dynamic accredited certification bodies in Cyprus. It promotes certification not as an end in itself, but as a means of helping businesses upgrade their competitiveness in their own interest as well as in the interest of their customers, staff, associates and the general public. CyCert is accredited by the National Accreditation System of Greece (ESYD) and the Cyprus Organization for the Promotion of Quality and among other approvals has also been approved by the Cyprus Government as a Notified Body (No. 2010) for carrying out CE marking certifications, and by the Ministry of Labour as an approved lift inspection organization.

CyCert is also a member of the International Quality Network (IQNET), thus, enhancing the international recognition of its certificates.

CyCert is experiencing a period of rapid growth within the context of its activities and under conditions of independency and competition. Driven by principles and awareness towards its national status, by trained and experienced auditors and by its cooperation with other international organizations, CyCert offers reliable services which are highly appreciated both locally and abroad and operates offices in Greece, Italy and Egypt.

CyCert’s Strategic Objectives are:

• The strengthening and upgrading of the competitiveness of enterprises through the provision of services which add real value to their products or services
• The continuous upgrading of its services
• The expansion of its activities into new areas
• The increase of its market share
• The extension of its services overseas

How we use your information

In its everyday business operations, CyCert makes use of a variety of personal data about identifiable individuals, including data about

• Visitors to our website
• Customers
• Members of committees
• Traders and economic operators
• Other stakeholders

This privacy notice tells you what to expect when CyCert collects personal information.

Information we collect

When you contact us regarding our business operations or to purchase products and services from us, the personal data we will collect from you can include:

• Your name
• Your home or work address
• Your email address and or phone number
•  Your job title
• Usernames and passwords
• Your payment and delivery details, including billing and delivery addresses, credit card or bank account details
• And any other data you provide

The lawful basis for use of your personal data

We process data where it is necessary for the following purposes:

• To fulfil a legal obligation with which we must comply.
• For the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority, which includes:
  
  • responding to any comment, feedback or complaint you may send to us and to investigate any complaint received from you about our operations, products or services, and
  • monitoring use of our website and on-line platforms in order to correct or improve their use and content.
• For the performance of a contract to which you have agreed or in order to take steps at your request prior to entering a contract.
• To protect our legitimate interests in order to ensure we can exercise our legal rights for purposes such as legal claims, regulatory, business and legal compliance and to prevent fraud.
• With your consent to contact you regarding relevant events, products and services, market research or studies.

Sharing information

We may share your personal information with the following third parties –

• Our agents or sub-contractors for functions carried out on our behalf such as auditing services, sales of standards, provision of prescribed functions under law and courier/delivery services. These parties only have access to such information as necessary to perform their functions and may not use it for any other purpose.
• Our providers of professional business services such as financial and legal advisors, accountants and auditors.
• Our audit and oversight bodies to provide access to or disclose personal information such as is necessary for any accreditation or recognition agreement we have entered into or otherwise to protect CyCert.
• Our external suppliers of personal data processing services, e.g. document management services.

All third parties used by us to process personal data must provide the same level of protection for your data as we do. Your personal data may also be shared with government authorities in accordance with law or if required for compliance with law or to protect our legitimate interest.

Purpose of processing

Customers

Certification & inspection

We provide certification and inspection services by written agreement. When you provide personal information as part of such agreement it will be retained for the purpose of delivering that service. When you are listed on our customer database, either as an individual or representing a client company, we may contact you from time to time with updates and offers of other services which may be of interest to you. You can choose to unsubscribe from this listing at any time.

Professional qualification registries

CyCert retains professional qualification registries. Where we collect personal information when processing scheme requests the data is collected for the purpose of providing the requester with the unique id and we will hold the associated personal data for so long as the number remains valid or you advise us of a change of contact.

Events, Marketing and Communications

We disseminate information relevant to standardization, through promotional events such as conferences, seminars, award presentations and workshops, etc. By registering for participation to the events and activities organised by CyCert, you agree that some minimum personal data will be collected and processed by CyCert for the purpose of the facilitation of your participation to such event or activity. Third parties that are hosting or co-organising these events may also be provided access to these personal data. Additionally, your contact information will be used by CyCert in order to provide you with updates on similar events in the future. You can request to unsubscribe from list of contacts by sending an email at training@cycert.org.cy You consent that during the CyCert events you may be photographed or video recorded. Such photos and videos are used exclusively by CyCert for reporting of such events and are not used for any commercial purpose.

In those cases where you will request subscription to the relevant CyCert newsletters, you agree that your personal data that you have agreed to provide, will be included in a contact list and you will be regularly contacted with relevant communications.
You have the right at any time to request to unsubscribe from such contact lists by sending an email to training@cycert.org.cy

CyCert do not use your personal data for any commercial purposes and do not transfer these personal data to third parties for any other purpose without your explicit consent.

Training

When we hold training sessions, we will collect your personal data and process it for this purpose and we will not contact you regarding further training opportunities without your consent.

Research projects

When we participate in any research projects funded by European Commission or otherwise, we may collect personal data. This information is shared between the partners of the research project and is held in accordance with the personal data protection policies of the organization.

Retention period

All the personal data collected by CyCert are retained as a minimum for the period that you remain active within the CyCert system and are reviewed every 5 years in order to determine if it should be deleted.

Photographs and videos of events are retained by CyCert for the performance of the intended purpose and are archived for historical recording purpose.

In some occasions CyCert is required by law to maintain records of personal data for specific purposes e.g. financial data, for audit or reporting to authorities etc. Following the completion of the relevant statutory period your personal data are deleted.

Security of Personal Data

CyCert has organisational, physical, administrative and technical measures in place to protect the personal data we collect and process. We monitor the measures to ensure information is secure and operating in a manner to reasonably protect the collected and processed information. The information security systems and measures are upgraded from time to time to limit risks of unauthorised disclosure.

In the event of a data breach, CyCert will issue breach notifications as may be required under law.

Your rights

The following apply with regard to your data:

• You can request access to and rectification or deletion of your personal data or the restriction of the processing, unless the processing is required by law.
• You can object to the processing, unless required by law, and you can request to receive your personal data in a portable format. In case this may incur expenses to CyCert, you may be requested a compensation;
• In those cases where the processing is based on your consent only and no other legal basis e.g. legitimate interests or necessary for the performance of a contract, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal;
• In case your contact with CyCert did not sufficiently address your request, you may further contact the relevant Data Protection Authority. As CyCert is a legal entity based in Cyprus, it operates under the remit of the Cyprus Data Privacy Commissioner. Changes to the Privacy Statement

We will post any changes to this privacy notice on our website in order to inform you of the personal data we collect, how it is used and the circumstances, if any, it can be disclosed. If we decide to use personal data in a significantly different manner to that stated in this Privacy Statement or for a different purpose for which it was collected, we will notify you of such change and if appropriate you will be given a choice as to whether we use your information in the new manner.

Contact

If you have further questions regarding the use of your personal data by CyCert or if you would like to receive additional information regarding CyCert Data Protection Policy you may contact CyCert at: 30 Kosta Anaxagora Str., 4rd Floor, CY-2014 Strovolos Nicosia, 22 411 456, email: privacy@CyCert.org.cy