An overview of information systems and data handling of Hungarian living communities from the perspective of General Data Protection Regulation requirements and information security

Abstract

There are multiple challenges present in the daily lives of living communities regarding legal and organizational matters, as well as issues concerning information technology and informational security, which demand a constant search for appropriate solutions. Reviewing these issues is especially important in Hungary, where one-fifth of the population lives in facilities that are maintained by the community itself. Moreover, the trends of the current real estate market point towards a rise in these numbers. Throughout our research, we have examined current Hungarian legal practices regarding data handling and information security. The central focus of our inquiry was to determine the typical behaviour of Hungarian officials working with, handling, storing and processing data of the country’s living communities. This study analyses market solutions for these condominium buildings to comply with the legal requirements and also reviews the legal and economic limitations of such practices. Special attention is devoted to the handling and processing of personal data, with an emphasis on forecasted trends of cyber threat in 2018.

The central subjects of our study, then, are legislative practices relevant for living communities, the protection of personal data, and information security issues in general. Thus, we examine the typical and most widespread software solutions deployed by resident managers, while also shedding light, with empirical research methods, on the level of data protection in such software packages. Since barrier-free access to information on condominium resident managers and communities themselves, as well as annual financial reports will be mandatory from January 1, 2019, resulting in the creation of a national register for resident managers, we extend our inquiry to the relationship between public administration bureaus and such living communities in the predictive section of our study.