# GDPR Article 12 — Transparent information, communication and modalities for the exercise of the rights of the data subject

- Source: https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/articles/a_gen_gdpr_article12_3916f88df0-gdpr-article-12-transparent-information-communication-and-modalities-for-the-exercise-of-t
- Section: [Solutions](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions) › [GDPR](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/62000112722) › [Chapter III: Rights of the Data Subject](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/folders/gdpr-chapter-3-rights-of-the-data-subject)
- Last updated: 2026-07-11
- Publisher: iCompaas, Inc. (https://www.icompaas.com)

GDPR · Control Article 12 · Priority: high · Component: Chapter III: Rights of the Data Subject

### What this control covers

The controller must provide clear, concise, and accessible information per Articles 13-14, and facilitate data subject rights under Articles 15-22, 34. Information must be free, timely (within one month), and in plain language, with extensions justified. Non-action requires reasoning and complaint options. Excessive requests may incur fees or refusal. This control addresses Data Subject Rights.

### Why it matters

Identity is the new perimeter — most breaches start with a stolen credential or over-privileged account, so this control is one of the single highest-leverage items you can implement.

### How to implement

#### AWS

Use **IAM Identity Center** (formerly AWS SSO) as the single source of truth for human access; back it with your corporate IdP via SAML/SCIM. Avoid IAM users for people — they don't get MFA-by-default, rotation, or session lifetimes. For workloads, use **IAM Roles** (assumed by EC2/Lambda/EKS service accounts via IRSA) and never long-lived access keys. Run [IAM Access Analyzer](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/access-analyzer.html) weekly to surface unused access and external-account exposure.

#### Azure

Centralize identity on **Microsoft Entra ID** (formerly Azure AD). Require **Conditional Access** policies: MFA for all admin roles, block legacy auth, location/device gating. Use **Privileged Identity Management (PIM)** to make admin roles just-in-time and time-bound. For Azure resources, prefer **Managed Identities** over service principals with secrets.

#### GCP

Use **Cloud Identity** (or Workspace) as the IdP and **IAM** for resource access. Grant roles at the lowest scope (project > folder > org) using **Workload Identity Federation** for CI/CD and **service accounts** for workloads — never download service-account keys when avoidable. Enable **Policy Intelligence** recommenders to right-size privileges and detect dormant identities.

#### Google Workspace

Enforce **2-Step Verification** (preferably hardware keys for admins) for the entire org, set session length to ≤ 12 hours, and disable less-secure-app access. Use **Context-Aware Access** levels to restrict admin sign-in by IP/device posture. Provision and de-provision users via **SCIM** from your HRIS so leavers lose access on day one.

#### GitHub

Require **SSO + SCIM** from your IdP on the organisation; enforce **2FA** org-wide and use **fine-grained PATs** (or, better, GitHub Apps) instead of classic tokens. Restrict **outside collaborators**, require signed commits on protected branches, and use **OIDC** from Actions to short-lived AWS/GCP/Azure credentials rather than stored secrets.

#### Zoho Mail

Make **two-factor authentication** mandatory for all users (TOTP, OneAuth, or YubiKey) in _Admin Console → Security_. Configure **SAML SSO** against your IdP and disable password-based logins for admins. Use **role-based privileges** (Admin / Spam Moderator / Mail Account Admin) and review the _Login history_ report monthly for anomalies.

### Evidence to collect

-   `identity_scan` — See the iCompaas Evidence library for the canonical source for this evidence type.

Identity analytics (Okta, SailPoint, Access Analyzer) demonstrates least-privilege. Focus: Transparent information, communication and modalities for the exercise of the rights of the data subject.

### Quick checklist

-   Transparent — Controller / Rights
-   Information — Controller / Rights
-   Data — Controller / Rights
-   Communication — Controller / Rights
-   Exercise — Controller / Rights
-   Review — Controller / Rights

### Related articles on this site

-   [GDPR Article 12: Transparent Information, Communication, and Modalities for Exercising Data Subject Rights](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/articles/62000236355-gdpr-article-12-transparent-information-communication-and-modalities-for-exercising-data-subject-r)
-   [Ensure Access Review is Set Up for External Users in Azure AD Privileged Identity Management (PIM](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/articles/62000229788-ensure-access-review-is-set-up-for-external-users-in-azure-ad-privileged-identity-management-pim)
-   [NIST 800-171 3.1.15 Authorize remote execution of privileged commands and remote access to security-relevant information.](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/articles/62000229250-nist-800-171-3-1-15-authorize-remote-execution-of-privileged-commands-and-remote-access-to-security-r)
-   [CMMC 2.0 AC.3.021 Authorize remote execution of privileged commands and remote access to security-relevant information.](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/articles/62000229416-cmmc-2-0-ac-3-021-authorize-remote-execution-of-privileged-commands-and-remote-access-to-security-rel)

## Related compliance guidance

- [GDPR compliance: a practical implementation guide for cloud-native SaaS teams](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/gdpr): How the Regulation fits together as a programme — lawful bases, Article 28/30/32/33 obligations, transfers and the DPIA process.
- [India's DPDP Act 2023: a practical compliance guide for cloud teams](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/india-dpdp-act-2023): If you also serve users in India, the DPDP Act borrows GDPR concepts but differs on consent, breach reporting and transfers.