Privacy policy
We take data protection and confidentiality very seriously and adhere to the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) as well as current national data protection regulations. Please read this information on data protection law carefully before submitting a report.
Purpose and legal basis of the whistleblowing system
The whistleblowing system (BKMS® System) serves to securely and confidentially receive, process and manage reports concerning violations of the compliance-order of ÖAW or its subsidiaries. Reports are received by that company to which you assign this report as part of the reporting process (input screen) and are processed, as a rule, only by the authorised persons and by persons bound by confidentiality. The processing of personal data within the framework of the BKMS® System is based on the justified interest of ÖAW or its respective subsidiary in the discovery and prevention of malpractice and thereby averting damage to ÖAW or its subsidiaries, its employees and members and contractual partners. The legal basis for this processing of personal data is Article 6 (1) c and f or Article 9 (2) a, f or g of GDPR in conjunction with the Austrian Whistleblowing law (HinSchG).
Controller
The controllers responsible for data protection in the whistleblowing system are
1) the ÖAW and
2) its subsidiaries (CeMM, GMI, IMBA or AGEI)
as joint controllers in the sense of Article 26 of the GDPR. The whistleblowing system is operated by a specialised company, EQS Group GmbH, Bayreuther Str. 35, 10789 Berlin in Germany.
Personal data and information entered into the whistleblowing system are stored in a database operated by EQS Group GmbH in a high-security data centre. Only ÖAW or the respective subsidiary can inspect the data. EQS Group GmbH and other third parties do not have access to the data. This is ensured in the certified procedure through extensive technical and organisational measures.
All data is stored encrypted with multiple levels of password protection and is subject to a system of authorisation so that access is restricted to a very small group of recipients expressly authorised by the respective company.
ÖAW and its subsidiaries have each appointed a data protection officer.
Enquiries regarding data protection at ÖAW can be sent to datenschutz@oeaw.ac.at.
Enquiries regarding data protection at CeMM can be sent to data-privacy@cemm.at.
Enquiries regarding data protection at GMI can be sent to datenschutz_gmi@gmi.oeaw.ac.at.
Enquiries regarding data protection at IMBA can be sent to datenschutz_imba@imba.oeaw.ac.at.
Type of collected personal data
Use of the whistleblowing system is voluntary. We collect the following personal data and information when you submit a report using the whistleblowing system:
- your name, if you choose to reveal your identity,
- whether you are an employee of ÖAW or of one of its subsidiaries and
- the names and other personal data of persons whom you list in your report, if applicable.
Confidential handling of reports
Incoming reports are received by a small group of expressly authorised and specially trained employees of the compliance organisation of ÖAW or one of its subsidiaries and are always handled confidentially. These employees evaluate the matter and carry out any further clarification that may be required by the specific case.
While processing a report or conducting a special investigation, it may be necessary to share information with other employees of ÖAW or of the respective subsidiary or with the employees of other group companies, e.g. if the information refers to events in subsidiaries. We always ensure that the applicable data protection regulations are complied with when sharing reports.
All persons who receive access to the data are obligated to maintain confidentiality.
Information about the accused party
We are legally obligated to inform accused parties of any reports received against them as soon as the disclosure of this information no longer jeopardises the investigation. Your identity as a whistleblower will not be disclosed unless we are legally bound to do so.
Rights of the data subjects
Pursuant to European data protection legislation, you and the persons named in the report have a right to access, rectification, erasure and restriction of processing and a right to object to the processing of your personal data. If the right to object to the processing of the personal data is exercised, the necessity of the stored data for the examination of a report will be evaluated immediately. Data that are no longer needed will be erased without undue delay. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority.
However, please note that as long as and insofar as this is necessary to protect the identity of the whistleblower or another person (§ 2 (3)(1) or 2 , § 8 (1)(4) of HSchG) provided by law and is necessary to achieve the purposes specified by law, in particular to prevent attempts to restrain, circumvent or delay information or follow-up measures based on information, in particular for the duration of the execution of an administrative authority’s or judicial or investigation proceedings according to the Code of Criminal Procedure (StPO), the following rights of a person affected by information do not apply:
- Right to information (§ 43 DSG [Data Protection Act], Art 13 and 14 GDPR),
- Right to access (§ 1 (3)(1) and § 44 DSG, Art 15 GDPR),
- Right to rectification (§ 1 (3)(2) and § 45 DSG, Art 16 GDPR)
- Right to erasure (§ 1 (3)(2) and § 45 DSG, Art 17 GDPR)
- Right to restriction of processing (§ 45 DSG, Art. 18 GDPR)
- Right to object (Art. 21 GDPR) and
- Right to notification of a breach of personal data protection (§ 56 DSG and Art 34 GDPR).
Retention period for personal data
Personal data is retained for as long as is necessary for clarification and final assessment of the information or for as long as a legitimate interest of ÖAW or of the respective subsidiary exists or if this is required by law. After the report processing is concluded, the data will be erased in accordance with statutory requirements. It is legally required to retain personal data for five years from the period it is processed or transmitted for the last time; retention may also be required beyond this period for as long as is necessary to carry out administrative or judicial proceedings or investigative proceedings that have already been initiated under the Austrian Code of Criminal Procedure (=Obligation to Preserve Records). Further, processing operations like alterations, enquiries, conveyances must be recorded. Log data for these processes must be kept for up to three years from their last processing and transmission after the end of the retention obligation.
Use of the whistleblowing system
Communication between your computer and the whistleblowing system takes place over an encrypted connection (SSL). Your IP address will not be stored during your use of the whistleblowing system. In order to maintain the connection between your computer and the BKMS® System, a cookie is stored on your computer that merely contains the session ID (a session cookie). This cookie is only valid until the end of your session and expires when you close your browser.
It is possible to set up a secured postbox within the whistleblowing system with an individually chosen pseudonym/ user name and password. In this manner, you can send reports to the responsible employees of ÖAW or of the respective subsidiary either by name or anonymously and securely. This system only stores data inside the whistleblowing system, which makes it particularly secure. It is not a form of regular email communication.
Note on sending attachments
When submitting a report or an addition, you have the option to send attachments to the responsible employees of ÖAW or of the respective subsidiary. If you wish to submit an anonymous report, please take note of the following security advice: Files may contain hidden personal data that could jeopardise your anonymity. Please remove all such information before sending a file. If you are unable to remove such data or are uncertain about how to do so, copy the text of your attachment into your report text or send the printed document anonymously to the address listed in the footer, citing the reference number received at the end of the reporting process.
Version: 03.07.2023
