Information Security Training vs. GDPR Training: What Companies Actually Need

GDPR training teaches how personal data is processed lawfully under the GDPR. Information security training is broader and protects all of a company's information and systems, even without any link to a person. Since December 2025, NIS2 also applies, but only to around 29,500 entities. After reading this article, you will know whether your company needs one training or two, and when GDPR training alone is enough.

From the Provimedia editorial team. As of: July 2026. This article is general information, not legal advice.

What is the difference between information security and data protection?

Data protection is a fundamental right: it protects people from having their personal data misused. The legal basis in the EU is the GDPR, supplemented by the BDSG (Federal Data Protection Act). The central question is always whether data is processed lawfully, for a specific purpose, and securely.

Information security has a different protection object: it protects all of a company's information worth protecting, such as design plans, formulas, financial data, source code, and trade secrets, regardless of whether it relates to a person. The goal is the classic protection triad of confidentiality, integrity, and availability. A data leak involving purely machine data is usually irrelevant under data protection law, but a serious incident from an information security standpoint.

Where do the two areas overlap?

The biggest overlap lies wherever personal data is processed technically. Art. 5(1)(f) GDPR requires "integrity and confidentiality" of processing as a core principle. Art. 32 GDPR turns this into a concrete duty to secure processing: appropriate technical and organizational measures such as encryption, access controls, system resilience, and a process for regularly testing effectiveness. Whoever fulfills this duty is, in effect, already practicing information security for personal data.

That is why the basic content of a GDPR training duty for employees and a general security awareness course overlap heavily. Four topics serve both goals at once:

• Secure passwords and login credentials
• Recognizing phishing emails
• Handling mobile devices
• Clear reporting paths for security incidents

The difference only becomes visible once information without a personal link, or structured risk management processes, come into play; plain data protection awareness is not enough for that.

What does NIS2 additionally require, and who does it apply to?

Check first whether NIS2 even applies to you; for most SMEs, the answer is no. On December 6, 2025, the NIS2 Implementation and Cybersecurity Strengthening Act (NIS2UmsuCG) came into force and fundamentally rewrote the BSI Act (BSI-Gesetz, BSIG). According to the BSI (Federal Office for Information Security), this brings around 29,500 entities under the new rules, up from around 4,500 previously. Affected are:

• Operators of critical infrastructure, automatically, regardless of size
• Companies in certain sectors (such as energy, transport, healthcare, digital infrastructure, and finance) above defined thresholds for staff numbers, revenue, or balance sheet total
• No transition period: registration already runs in two stages, via "Mein Unternehmenskonto" and, since January 6, 2026, additionally via the BSI portal

Central to practice is Section 38 BSIG: the management of especially important and important entities must regularly attend training to recognize, assess, and evaluate information security risks and their effect on the entity's own services. This duty is not delegable and is tied personally to the management board. If the duty is breached, corporate law imposes personal liability on management for damage caused through fault. Important for classification: this training duty applies expressly only to the management boards of entities required to register under NIS2; outside that scope, the law does not require any company to provide a specific kind of employee training.

GDPR training and information security training compared

Feature	GDPR training	Information security training
Protection object	Personal data, rights of the individuals concerned	All information and systems, with or without a personal link
Legal framework	GDPR, BDSG	Voluntary (ISO/IEC 27001, BSI IT baseline protection); for NIS2 entities, additionally the BSIG
Typical content	Lawfulness of processing, rights of individuals, reporting duties, processor agreements	Phishing recognition, password hygiene, risk management, ISMS fundamentals
Target audience	All employees with data access	All employees; NIS2 additionally mandatory for management
Proof	Certificate of attendance / training record	Depending on the framework: internal log, ISMS documentation, or certification

Which training does my company need?

For most small and medium-sized companies without a NIS2 registration duty, sound baseline GDPR training is the right first step. It covers the legal duties under the GDPR and, at the same time, conveys the security fundamentals from Art. 32 GDPR: secure passwords, phishing recognition, and the correct handling of data in everyday work. That is enough as baseline awareness for the majority of the workforce.

Companies required to register under NIS2 need more on top: a structured information security management system, usually based on the international standard ISO/IEC 27001 or the BSI's IT baseline protection framework. Both are voluntary frameworks, not legally mandated certifications. On top of that comes the specific management training under Section 38 BSIG. General GDPR training cannot replace these duties and is not designed to.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

Is GDPR training the same as information security training?

No. Both overlap on fundamentals such as phishing recognition or password hygiene, but they have a different protection object: data protection protects people and their data, information security protects all of a company's information and systems.

Does GDPR training also cover the requirements of Art. 32 GDPR?

Good baseline GDPR training conveys the awareness that Art. 32 GDPR expects from employees, such as the secure handling of data and systems. The technical and organizational measures themselves, such as encryption, access concepts, or contingency plans, still have to be implemented and documented technically by the company on top of that.

Does every company have to meet NIS2 requirements?

No, according to BSI estimates NIS2 affects only around 29,500 entities: critical infrastructure automatically, otherwise only companies in certain sectors above defined thresholds. Whether your own entity is affected can be checked via the registration duty with the BSI.

Does employee training replace an ISMS under ISO 27001 or BSI IT baseline protection?

No. Awareness training is one building block of an information security management system, but no substitute for it. ISO/IEC 27001 and BSI IT baseline protection additionally include risk analyses, technical measures, processes, and usually certification or attestation by independent bodies.

As a practical first step, Provimedia offers a GDPR fundamentals training with a certificate of attendance; it covers employees' data protection awareness but does not replace an ISMS or NIS2 management training under Section 38 BSIG.

Sources

• BSI: Cybersecurity law, NIS2 Implementation Act in force (press release, December 5, 2025)
• Section 38 BSIG: implementation, monitoring, and training duty of management
• BSI: guidance on NIS2 management training under Section 38 BSIG
• BSI: IT baseline protection (IT-Grundschutz)
• Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR), Art. 5(1)(f), Art. 32, EUR-Lex