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# Chatham House Invites a CoEIA Researcher to a Workshop on the GDPR
- URL: https://coeia.cloud-event.com/en/news/chatham-house-gdpr-workshop-en/
- Published: 2018-06-06T09:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-26T09:51:19.000Z
- Description: Prof. Muhammad Khurram Khan took part in a Chatham House workshop in London on whether the Gulf Cooperation Council countries are ready for the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
- Author: CoEIA Admin
- Tags: News, #en

The Royal Institute of International Affairs in the United Kingdom, known as Chatham House, one of the world's largest think tanks on international affairs, organized a workshop in London on 31 May 2018 titled "Data Protection, Privacy and GDPR: Are GCC Countries Ready for the GDPR?"

The workshop brought together business leaders, lawyers, academics and policymakers from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, the United Kingdom and major international institutions to discuss the state of data protection in the Gulf, especially the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). A growing number of data breaches in the region has intensified the debate on data protection and privacy and led to many initiatives at government level and in the public and private sectors.

With the EU's adoption of the GDPR, companies in GCC countries are putting policies and measures in place to comply with its requirements and avoid heavy fines of up to 4% of annual turnover or EUR 20 million, whichever is higher. Participants discussed the regulation's core concepts and principles, its impact on GCC countries, the relationship with data protection authorities, and the region's readiness.

Prof. Muhammad Khurram Khan, professor of cybersecurity at the Center of Excellence in Information Assurance, King Saud University, was invited to take part. "Data breaches will inevitably happen, and personal data can be lost, stolen or fall into the hands of hackers and be misused. With the new GDPR in force since 25 May 2018, organizations that collect, process and manage data are obliged to protect it from misuse and to respect the rights of data owners," he said.

He explained that personal data is any information relating to an individual or entity in their private, professional or public life, such as a name, home address, photo, email address, bank details, social media posts or medical records.

The workshop was attended by prominent figures, academics, policymakers, public and private sector executives and GCC government representatives. Founded in 1920, Chatham House stimulates debate and research on political, economic, security and other international issues through its research, meetings, conferences, publications, library and expert media interviews.