A data protection impact assessment (DPIA) is a structured process for identifying and reducing privacy risks before starting processing that is likely to pose a high risk to people’s rights and freedoms. It examines how personal data will be collected, used, stored, shared, and deleted, and considers whether the proposed safeguards are sufficient.
In cybersecurity and system design, a DPIA can expose risks such as excessive access, insecure data flows, unnecessary retention, or difficulties honoring requests to access or erase personal data. For example, before a public agency adds AI to a document-management workflow, a DPIA can map the data involved, assess who can access it, and define controls such as access restrictions, retention limits, human review, and procedures for handling individual rights. It supports risk-based decisions; it does not replace security testing or other legal obligations.