Data Protection Policy

Community Benchmark is committed to protecting the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of customer data. We design our products and business processes with security and privacy in mind and continually evaluate our practices to align with current industry standards.

Privacy by Design
Protecting customer information is a fundamental design principle of the Community Benchmark platform.
Our benchmarking services are built to prevent the disclosure of individual winery performance. Customer information is only presented in aggregated form, and benchmark reporting is generated only from groups containing a minimum of four participating wineries.
Community Benchmark does not store:

Our systems collect and retain only the information necessary to provide our services.
For additional information regarding how customer information is collected and used, please refer to our Privacy Policy.

Data Security
Community Benchmark employs multiple layers of administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect customer information from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction.
These safeguards include encryption, secure authentication, access controls, continuous monitoring, and secure cloud infrastructure.

Encryption
Data in Transit
All communications between users and the Community Benchmark platform are encrypted using HTTPS protected by Transport Layer Security (TLS).

Data at Rest
Customer data stored within our production database is encrypted at rest using industry-standard AES-256 encryption.
Encryption keys are managed and regularly rotated by our managed cloud infrastructure providers.

Authentication & Access Control
Community Benchmark protects customer accounts through modern authentication and authorization practices, including:

Access to customer information is restricted to authorized personnel whose responsibilities require such access.

Application Security
Community Benchmark develops software using secure software development practices designed to protect against common web application vulnerabilities.
Security controls include protection against risks such as:

User input is validated and sanitized throughout the application, and modern development frameworks provide additional built-in security protections.

Infrastructure Security
Community Benchmark is hosted on professionally managed cloud infrastructure providers that maintain enterprise-grade physical and network security.
Our hosting providers maintain security controls including:

Backup & Disaster Recovery
Community Benchmark maintains automated database backups to support business continuity and disaster recovery.
Current backup practices include:

Backup data is encrypted and protected using the same security standards as production systems.

Logging & Monitoring
Community Benchmark maintains application logging and monitoring systems designed to detect operational issues and potential security events.
Application errors are transmitted securely to authorized personnel for investigation.
Sensitive system information is never exposed to end users through production error messages.

Third-Party Service Providers
Community Benchmark performs the majority of data processing activities internally. Where appropriate, we engage carefully selected third-party service providers to support our operations, including services such as:

We require service providers to maintain appropriate security controls and, where applicable, execute contractual agreements governing the protection and confidentiality of customer data.

Data Retention & Deletion
Customer data is retained for the duration of the customer relationship unless otherwise required by contract or applicable law.
Upon termination of services or receipt of a valid deletion request, customer data is deleted in accordance with Community Benchmark’s data retention and backup lifecycle procedures.

Security Monitoring & Maintenance
Community Benchmark regularly reviews and updates its software, infrastructure, and security controls to address newly identified vulnerabilities and evolving security best practices.
We use commercially reasonable efforts to:

Customer Responsibilities
Customers are responsible for protecting their account credentials and ensuring that authorized users follow appropriate security practices within their own organizations.

Contact
Questions regarding Community Benchmark’s data protection and security practices may be directed to:
Community Benchmark
 support@communitybenchmark.com