
PECB Certified Data Protection Officer Exam Practice Questions
US$39
Every question with the correct answer and why the other options are wrong.
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Three of the 80 questions in this pack
Question 1
Show the case study this question is based on
Scenario 1: MED is a healthcare provider located in Norway. It provides high-quality and affordable healthcare services, including disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Founded in 1995, MED is one of the largest health organizations in the private sector. The company has constantly evolved, as a response to patients' needs.
Patients that schedule an appointment in MED's medical centers need to initially provide their personal information, including name and surname, address, phone number, and date of birth. Further checkup or admission requires extra information, including previous medical history and genetic data.
When providing the personal data, patients are informed that the data is used for personalizing their treatments and improving the communication between them and MED's doctors. Medical data of patients, including children, are stored in the database of MED's health information system. MED allows patients who are at least 16 years old to use the system and provide their personal information independently.
For children below the age of 16, MED requires consent from the holder of parental responsibility before processing their data.
MED uses a cloud-based application that allows patients and doctors to upload and access information. Patients can save all personal medical data, including test results, doctor visits, diagnosis history, and medicine prescription, as well as review and track them at any time. Doctors, on the other hand, can access their patients' data through the application and can add information, as needed.
Patients who decide to continue the treatment in another health institution can request by MED to transfer their data. Even if patients decide to continue their treatment in other health institutions, their personal data is still used by MED and patients' requests to stop data processing are rejected. This has been decided from MED's top management in order to save the information of everyone who gets registered in their databases.
The company shares medical data with InsHealth, a health insurance company. MED's data helps InsHealth create health insurance plans that meet the needs of individuals and families.
MED believes that it is its responsibility to ensure the security and accuracy of the patients' personal data. Thus, based on the identified risks presented by data processing activities, MED has implemented appropriate security measures to ensure that data is securely stored and processed.
Since personal data of patients is stored and transmitted over the internet, MED uses encryption to avoid unauthorized processing, accidental loss, or destruction of data. The company has established a security policy to define the levels of protection required for each information and processing activity. MED has communicated the policy and other procedures to the personnel and provided customized training to all personnel to ensure that it is able to use MED's systems needed for data processing.
Based on this scenario, answer the following question:
If a patient requests MED to permanently erase their data, MED should:
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. Erase the personal data if it is no longer needed for its original purpose
Article 17 of the GDPR gives data subjects the right to have their personal data erased without undue delay when one of its grounds applies, and the first ground is that the data is no longer necessary for the purposes for which it was collected or otherwise processed. When a patient asks MED for permanent erasure, MED should erase the data once it no longer serves the purpose for which it was collected, such as personalizing treatment. The right is not absolute: Article 17(3) lists exceptions, for example where retention is needed to comply with a legal obligation or for public health reasons, but these are limits on erasure, not conditions for it.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Health data is not exempt from erasure, and the GDPR contains no blanket rule that medical history can never be deleted.
- C. Compliance with a legal obligation is a reason to keep data under Article 17(3), not a condition that triggers erasure.
Question 2
Show the case study this question is based on
Scenario 2: Soyled is a retail company that sells a wide range of electronic products from top European brands. It primarily sells its products in its online platforms (which include customer reviews and ratings), despite using physical stores since 2015. Soyled's website and mobile app are used by millions of customers. Soyled has employed various solutions to create a customer-focused ecosystem and facilitate growth.
Soyled uses customer relationship management (CRM) software to analyze user data and administer the interaction with customers. The software allows the company to store customer information, identify sales opportunities, and manage marketing campaigns. It automatically obtains information about each user's IP address and web browser cookies. Soyled also uses the software to collect behavioral data, such as users' repeated actions and mouse movement information.
Customers must create an account to buy from Soyled's online platforms. To do so, they fill out a standard sign-up form of three mandatory boxes (name, surname, email address) and a non-mandatory one (phone number).
When the user clicks the email address box, a pop-up message appears as follows:
"Soyled needs your email address to grant you access to your account and contact you about any changes related to your account and our website. For further information, please read our privacy policy."
When the user clicks the phone number box, the following message appears:
"Soyled may use your phone number to provide text updates on the order status. The phone number may also be used by the shipping courier." Once the personal data is provided, customers create a username and password, which are used to access Soyled's website or app.
When customers want to make a purchase, they are also required to provide their bank account details.
When the user finally creates the account, the following message appears:
"Soyled collects only the personal data it needs for the following purposes: processing orders, managing accounts, and personalizing customers' experience. The collected data is shared with our network and used for marketing purposes." Soyled uses personal data to promote sales and its brand. If a user decides to close the account, the personal data is still used for marketing purposes only. Last month, the company received an email from John, a customer, claiming that his personal data was being used for purposes other than those specified by the company. According to the email, Soyled was using the data for direct marketing purposes. John requested details on how his personal data was collected, stored, and processed.
Based on this scenario, answer the following question:
When completing the sign-up form, the user gets a notification about the purpose for which the company collects their email address. Is Soyled required by the GDPR to do so?
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. Yes, users must be informed of the purpose of collecting their personal data
Article 13 of the GDPR requires a controller that collects personal data from the data subject to provide certain information at the time the data is obtained, including the purposes of the processing and its legal basis. This duty applies automatically and does not wait for a request from the user. By displaying a message explaining that the email address is needed to grant account access and to contact the user about changes, Soyled informs users of the purpose at the moment of collection, which is exactly what the transparency obligation requires.
Why the other options are wrong
- B. Article 13 requires the information to be provided proactively at the time of collection, not only on request.
- C. The purposes of processing are among the core items a controller must disclose, so informing users only about collection, storage or processing methods is insufficient.
Question 3
Show the case study this question is based on
Scenario 3: COR Bank is an international banking group that operates in 31 countries. It was formed as the merger of two well-known investment banks in Germany. Their two main fields of business are retail and investment banking. COR Bank provides innovative solutions for services such as payments, cash management, savings, protection insurance, and real-estate services.
COR Bank has a large number of clients and transactions. Therefore, they process large information, including clients' personal data. Some of the data from the application processes of COR Bank, including archived data, is operated by Tibko, an IT services company located in Canada. To ensure compliance with the GDPR, COR Bank and Tibko have reached a data processing agreement. Based on the agreement, the purpose and conditions of data processing are determined by COR Bank. However, Tibko is allowed to make technical decisions for storing the data based on its own expertise.
COR Bank aims to remain a trustworthy bank and a long-term partner for its clients. Therefore, they devote special attention to legal compliance.
They started the implementation process of a GDPR compliance program in 2018. The first step was to analyze the existing resources and procedures. Lisa was appointed as the data protection officer (DPO). Being the information security manager of COR Bank for many years, Lisa had knowledge of the organization's core activities. She was previously involved in most of the processes related to information systems management and data protection.
Lisa played a key role in achieving compliance to the GDPR by advising the company regarding data protection obligations and creating a data protection strategy. After obtaining evidence of the existing data protection policy, Lisa proposed to adapt the policy to specific requirements of GDPR. Then, Lisa implemented the updates of the policy within COR Bank.
To ensure consistency between processes of different departments within the organization, Lisa has constantly communicated with all heads of departments. As the DPO, she had access to several departments, including HR and Accounting Department. This assured the organization that there was a continuous cooperation between them.
The activities of some departments within COR Bank are closely related to data protection. Therefore, considering their expertise, Lisa was advised from the top management to take orders from the heads of those departments when taking decisions related to their field.
Based on this scenario, answer the following question:
Considering the GDPR's territorial scope and the details of the data processing arrangement between COR Bank and Tibko, which of the following best describes Tibko's obligations under the GDPR?
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. Tibko is required to comply with the GDPR because it processes personal data on behalf of COR Bank, and COR Bank determines the purpose of processing under their agreement
Under the agreement, COR Bank determines the purposes and conditions of processing, which makes it the controller, while Tibko processes the data on its behalf, which makes Tibko a processor. A processor's own technical choices about storage do not change this role. Because Tibko handles the personal data of an EU-established controller under its authority, it must meet the GDPR's processor obligations, which COR Bank must impose through a data processing agreement under Article 28, including acting only on documented instructions, ensuring confidentiality and implementing appropriate security measures.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. A processor's obligations go beyond storage safeguards, covering duties such as following documented instructions, confidentiality, sub-processor rules and assisting the controller.
- B. Determining the purpose of processing is the controller's role, and a processor that did so would no longer be acting as a processor.
How much of the PECB Certified Data Protection Officer bank is free?
80 questions in the bankEach step includes the one before, so buying only adds new questions.
- You are here10questionsFree sampleThree on this page, all ten as a PDF.Download the sample
- 40the first half of the packHalf PackFree by email, as one PDF, every answer explained.Get the Half Pack
- 80100%, the whole bankFull pack, US$39Plus the questions-only PDF, monthly updates, refund if you fail.Get the full pack
What’s in the PECB Certified Data Protection Officer pack
- 80 questions mapped to the CDPO exam objectives
- Answers and explanations for every question, including the wrong options
- A questions-only PDF for timed practice runs
- Delivered by email shortly after checkout
- Free monthly updates
- Pass or your money back
A failed exam attempt costs another retake fee plus weeks of restudying. This pack is US$39, paid once, and refunded if you fail.
What makes the CDPO hard
Half the exam is GDPR concepts and compliance measures. That first domain is 40 of the 80 questions. Roles and responsibilities of the accountable parties is 25, and technical and organisational measures for data protection is 15.
The exam is open book: a hard copy of the GDPR, your training materials and your own notes. That helps less than it sounds, because each question has only three options and the wrong ones are usually plausible readings of the same article. Controller against processor duties, lawful bases and when a DPIA is required are where most marks go. You need 70% to pass.
About the exam
The PECB Certified Data Protection Officer certification is for professionals who lead GDPR compliance and act as a data protection officer within an organization.
Competency domains and questions
- Domain 1: Data protection concepts, GDPR, and compliance measures: 40 questions
- Domain 2: Roles and responsibilities of accountable parties for the GDPR compliance: 25 questions
- Domain 3: Technical and organizational measures for data protection: 15 questions
80 multiple choice questions, three options each, 3 hours, open book, passing score 70%.
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