AIM-listed Crossword Cybersecurity has announced that some UK councils will use its Rizikon Assurance to manage compliance with the GDPR.

Stevenage Borough Council, Peterborough City Council and East Hertfordshire District Council will use the tech with their suppliers and for wider information governance.

The firm, which floated on the stock exchange last year, is led by CEO Tom Ilube and chaired by ex-MI6 head Sir Richard Dearlov.

GDPR makes many requirements of organisations, including taking adequate steps to ensure data is both encrypted and anonymised, so that in the event of a breach, the data cannot be exploited.

With a combined residential population of over 430,000, Crossword Cybersecurity said councils have a duty to ensure that the personal information of all residents is adequately protected against the risk of data breach.

Jake Holloway, Director responsible for Rizikon Assurance, said: “The role of every public service organisation is to serve its citizens, often holding personal information about them on many sensitive topics such as health, benefits and education.

“With that comes the responsibility of ensuring that information is protected, especially when it needs to be shared with partner organisations.

“Rizikon Assurance will help any organisation dramatically improve the speed and reliability of its third-party assurance processes, covering areas such as GDPR, health & safety, the Modern Slavery Act and any other requirements that they may have.

“It moves third party assurance from a siloed and reactive activity, to a connected, proactive continuous process that delivers a complete view of third-party risk.”