Privacy policy

1. An overview of data protection

General

The following gives a simple overview of what happens to your personal information when you visit our website. Personal information is any data with which you could be personally identified. Detailed information on the subject of data protection can be found in our privacy policy found below.

Data collection on our website

Who is responsible for the data collection on this website?

The data collected on this website are processed by the website operator. The operator’s contact details can be found in the website’s required legal notice.

How do we collect your data?

Some data are collected when you provide it to us. This could, for example, be data you enter on a contact form.

Other data are collected automatically by our IT systems when you visit the website. These data are primarily technical data such as the browser and operating system you are using or when you accessed the page. These data are collected automatically as soon as you enter our website.

What do we use your data for?

Part of the data is collected to ensure the proper functioning of the website. Other data can be used to analyze how visitors use the site.

What rights do you have regarding your data?

You always have the right to request information about your stored data, its origin, its recipients, and the purpose of its collection at no charge. You also have the right to request that it be corrected, blocked, or deleted. You can contact us at any time using the address given in the legal notice if you have further questions about the issue of privacy and data protection. You may also, of course, file a complaint with the competent regulatory authorities.

2. General information and mandatory information

Data protection

The operators of this website take the protection of your personal data very seriously. We treat your personal data as confidential and in accordance with the statutory data protection regulations and this privacy policy.

If you use this website, various pieces of personal data will be collected. Personal information is any data with which you could be personally identified. This privacy policy explains what information we collect and what we use it for. It also explains how and for what purpose this happens.

Please note that data transmitted via the internet (e.g. via email communication) may be subject to security breaches. Complete protection of your data from third-party access is not possible.

Notice concerning the party responsible for this website

The party responsible for processing data on this website is:

Brockmann Consult GmbH
Max-Planck-Str. 2
21502 Geesthacht
Germany

Telephone: +49 4152 889300
Email: info@brockmann-consult.de

The responsible party is the natural or legal person who alone or jointly with others decides on the purposes and means of processing personal data (names, email addresses, etc.).

Revocation of your consent to the processing of your data

Many data processing operations are only possible with your express consent. You may revoke your consent at any time with future effect. An informal email making this request is sufficient. The data processed before we receive your request may still be legally processed.

Right to file complaints with regulatory authorities

If there has been a breach of data protection legislation, the person affected may file a complaint with the competent regulatory authorities. The competent regulatory authority for matters related to data protection legislation is the data protection officer of the German state in which our company is headquartered. A list of data protection officers and their contact details can be found at the following link: https://www.bfdi.bund.de/DE/Infothek/Anschriften_Links/anschriften_links-node.html.

Right to data portability

You have the right to have data which we process based on your consent or in fulfillment of a contract automatically delivered to yourself or to a third party in a standard, machine-readable format. If you require the direct transfer of data to another responsible party, this will only be done to the extent technically feasible.

SSL or TLS encryption

This site uses SSL or TLS encryption for security reasons and for the protection of the transmission of confidential content, such as the inquiries you send to us as the site operator. You can recognize an encrypted connection in your browser’s address line when it changes from “https://” to “https://” and the lock icon is displayed in your browser’s address bar.

If SSL or TLS encryption is activated, the data you transfer to us cannot be read by third parties.

Information, blocking, deletion

As permitted by law, you have the right to be provided at any time with information free of charge about any of your personal data that is stored as well as its origin, the recipient and the purpose for which it has been processed. You also have the right to have this data corrected, blocked or deleted. You can contact us at any time using the address given in our legal notice if you have further questions on the topic of personal data.

Opposition to promotional emails

We hereby expressly prohibit the use of contact data published in the context of website legal notice requirements with regard to sending promotional and informational materials not expressly requested. The website operator reserves the right to take specific legal action if unsolicited advertising material, such as email spam, is received.

3. Data collection on our website

Cookies

Some of our web pages use cookies. Cookies do not harm your computer and do not contain any viruses. Cookies help make our website more user-friendly, efficient, and secure. Cookies are small text files that are stored on your computer and saved by your browser.

Most of the cookies we use are so-called “session cookies.” They are automatically deleted after your visit. Other cookies remain in your device’s memory until you delete them. These cookies make it possible to recognize your browser when you next visit the site.

You can configure your browser to inform you about the use of cookies so that you can decide on a case-by-case basis whether to accept or reject a cookie. Alternatively, your browser can be configured to automatically accept cookies under certain conditions or to always reject them, or to automatically delete cookies when closing your browser. Disabling cookies may limit the functionality of this website.

Cookies which are necessary to allow electronic communications or to provide certain functions you wish to use (such as the shopping cart) are stored pursuant to Art. 6 paragraph 1, letter f of DSGVO. The website operator has a legitimate interest in the storage of cookies to ensure an optimized service provided free of technical errors. If other cookies (such as those used to analyze your surfing behavior) are also stored, they will be treated separately in this privacy policy.

[borlabs_cookie]

Server log files

The website provider automatically collects and stores information that your browser automatically transmits to us in “server log files”. These are:

• Browser type and browser version
• Operating system used
• Referrer URL
• Host name of the accessing computer
• Time of the server request
• IP address

These data will not be combined with data from other sources.

The basis for data processing is Art. 6 (1) (f) DSGVO, which allows the processing of data to fulfill a contract or for measures preliminary to a contract.

Contact form

Should you send us questions via the contact form, we will collect the data entered on the form, including the contact details you provide, to answer your question and any follow-up questions. We do not share this information without your permission.

We will, therefore, process any data you enter onto the contact form only with your consent per Art. 6 (1)(a) DSGVO. You may revoke your consent at any time. An informal email making this request is sufficient. The data processed before we receive your request may still be legally processed.

We will retain the data you provide on the contact form until you request its deletion, revoke your consent for its storage, or the purpose for its storage no longer pertains (e.g. after fulfilling your request). Any mandatory statutory provisions, especially those regarding mandatory data retention periods, remain unaffected by this provision.

Google reCAPTCHA Privacy Policy

What is reCAPTCHA?

Our primary goal is to secure and protect our website for you and for us in the best possible way. To ensure this, we use Google reCAPTCHA from the company Google Inc. For the European area, the company Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street Dublin 4, Ireland) is responsible for all Google services. With reCAPTCHA we can determine whether you are really a flesh and blood human being and not a robot or other spam software. By spam we mean any unsolicited information sent to us electronically. With the classic CAPTCHAS, you usually had to solve text or picture puzzles to check. With reCAPTCHA from Google, we usually don’t have to bother you with such puzzles. Here, in most cases, it is enough to simply tick a box and thus confirm that you are not a bot. With the new Invisible reCAPTCHA version, you don’t even have to set a tick anymore. You will find out exactly how this works and, above all, what data is used for this purpose in the course of this privacy policy.

reCAPTCHA is a free captcha service from Google that protects websites from spam software and abuse by non-human visitors. The most common use of this service is when you fill out forms on the internet. A captcha service is a type of automatic Turing test that is designed to ensure that an action on the internet is performed by a human and not a bot. In the classic Turing test (named after the computer scientist Alan Turing), a human determines the distinction between a bot and a human. With captchas, this is also done by the computer or a software programme. Classic captchas work with small tasks that are easy for humans to solve, but present considerable difficulties for machines. With reCAPTCHA, you no longer have to actively solve puzzles. The tool uses modern risk techniques to distinguish humans from bots. Here you only have to tick the text field “I am not a robot” or with Invisible reCAPTCHA even that is no longer necessary. With reCAPTCHA, a JavaScript element is integrated into the source code and then the tool runs in the background and analyses your user behaviour. From these user actions, the software calculates a so-called captcha score. Google uses this score to calculate how likely you are to be a human even before the captcha is entered. reCAPTCHA or captchas in general are always used when bots could manipulate or abuse certain actions (such as registrations, surveys, etc.).

Why do we use reCAPTCHA on our website?

We only want to welcome flesh and blood people on our site. Bots or spam software of any kind can safely stay at home. That’s why we pull out all the stops to protect ourselves and offer the best possible user experience for you. For this reason, we use Google reCAPTCHA from Google. This way we can be pretty sure that we remain a “bot-free” website. By using reCAPTCHA, data is transmitted to Google to determine whether you are actually a human being. reCAPTCHA therefore serves the security of our website and, by extension, your security. For example, without reCAPTCHA it could happen that a bot registers as many email addresses as possible during registration in order to “spam” forums or blogs with unwanted advertising content. With reCAPTCHA, we can avoid such bot attacks.

What data is stored by reCAPTCHA?

reCAPTCHA collects personal data from users in order to determine whether the actions on our website actually originate from people. The IP address and other data required by Google for the reCAPTCHA service may therefore be sent to Google. IP addresses are almost always shortened beforehand within the member states of the EU or other contracting states to the Agreement on the European Economic Area before the data ends up on a server in the USA. The IP address is not combined with other data from Google unless you are logged in with your Google account while using reCAPTCHA. First, the reCAPTCHA algorithm checks whether Google cookies from other Google services (YouTube. Gmail, etc.) are already placed on your browser. Then, reCAPTCHA sets an additional cookie in your browser and captures a snapshot of your browser window.

The following list of collected browser and user data does not claim to be complete. Rather, they are examples of data that, to our knowledge, are processed by Google.

• Referrer URL (the address of the page from which the visitor comes)
• IP address (e.g. 256.123.123.1)
• Info about the operating system (the software that enables your computer to run.
  Known operating systems are Windows, Mac OS X or Linux).
• Cookies (small text files that store data in your browser)
• Mouse and keyboard behaviour (every action you perform with the mouse or keyboard is saved)
• Date and language settings (which language or date you have preset on your PC will be saved).
• All JavaScript objects (JavaScript is a programming language that allows websites to adapt to the user. JavaScript objects can collect all kinds of data under one name).
• Screen resolution (shows how many pixels the image display consists of)

It is undisputed that Google uses and analyses this data even before you click on the “I am not a robot” checkbox. With the Invisible reCAPTCHA version, even the ticking is omitted and the entire recognition process runs in the background. Google does not tell you in detail how much and which data it stores.

The following cookies are used by reCAPTCHA: Here we refer to the reCAPTCHA demo version from Google at https://www.google.com/recaptcha/api2/demo. All these cookies require a unique identifier for tracking purposes. Here is a list of cookies that Google reCAPTCHA has set on the demo version:

Name: IDE
Value: WqTUmlnmv_qXyi_DGNPLESKnRNrpgXoy1K-pAZtAkMbHI-311891127-8
Purpose: This cookie is set by DoubleClick (also owned by Google) to record and report a user’s actions on the website in dealing with advertisements. This allows advertising effectiveness to be measured and appropriate optimisation measures to be taken. IDE is stored in browsers under the domain doubleclick.net.
Expiry date: after one year

Name: 1P_JAR
Value: 2019-5-14-12
Purpose: This cookie collects statistics on website usage and measures conversions. A conversion occurs, for example, when a user becomes a buyer. The cookie is also used to display relevant advertisements to users. Furthermore, the cookie can be used to prevent a user from seeing the same ad more than once.
Expiry date: after one month

Name: ANID
Value: U7j1v3dZa3118911270xgZFmiqWppRWKOr
Purpose: We could not find out much information about this cookie. In Google’s privacy policy, the cookie is mentioned in connection with “advertising cookies” such as “DSID”, “FLC”, “AID”, “TAID”. ANID is stored under domain google.com.
Expiry date: after 9 months

Name: CONSENT
Value: YES+AT.de+20150628-20-0
Purpose: The cookie stores the status of a user’s consent to use various Google services. CONSENT is also used for security purposes to verify users, prevent login fraud and protect user data from unauthorised attacks.
Expiry date: after 19 years

Name: NID
Value: 0WmuWqy311891127zILzqV_nmt3sDXwPeM5Q
Purpose: NID is used by Google to customise advertisements to your Google search. With the help of the cookie, Google “remembers” your most frequently entered search queries or your previous interaction with ads. So you always get tailored ads. The cookie contains a unique ID to collect the user’s personal preferences for advertising purposes.
Expiry date: after 6 months

Name: DV
Value: gEAABBCjJMXcI0dSAAAANbqc311891127-4
Purpose: Once you have ticked the “I am not a robot” box, this cookie will be set. The cookie is used by Google Analytics for personalised advertising. DV collects information in an anonymous form and is also used to make user distinctions.
Expiry date: after 10 minutes

Note: This list cannot claim to be exhaustive, as experience has shown that Google changes its choice of cookies from time to time.

How long and where is the data stored?

By inserting reCAPTCHA, data is transferred from you to the Google server. Where exactly this data is stored, Google does not make clear, even after repeated enquiries. Without having received confirmation from Google, it can be assumed that data such as mouse interaction,
time spent on the website or language settings are stored on Google’s European or American servers. The IP address that your browser transmits to Google is generally not merged with other Google data from other Google services. However, if you are logged into your Google account while using the reCAPTCHA plug-in, the data will be merged. T he deviating data protection regulations of the Google company apply to this.

How can I delete my data or prevent data storage?

If you do not want any data about you and your behaviour to be transmitted to Google, you must log out of Google completely and delete all Google cookies before you visit our website or use the reCAPTCHA software. In principle, data is automatically transmitted to Google as soon as you visit our site. To delete this data again, you must contact Google support at https://support.google.com/?hl=de&tid=311891127.

Therefore, by using our website, you consent to the automatic collection, processing and use of data by Google LLC and its agents.

Please note that when using this tool, data from you may also be stored and processed outside the EU. Most third countries (including the USA) are not considered secure under current European data protection law. Data to insecure third countries may therefore not simply be transferred, stored and processed there unless there are appropriate safeguards (such as EU standard contractual clauses) between us and the non-European service provider.

Legal basis

If you have consented to Google reCAPTCHA being used, the legal basis for the corresponding data processing is this consent. According to Art. 6 Abs. 1 lit. a DSGVO (consent), this consent constitutes the legal basis for the processing of personal data as it may occur during the collection by Google reCAPTCHA.

We also have a legitimate interest in using Google reCAPTCHA to optimise our online service and make it more secure. The corresponding legal basis for this is Art. 6 Abs. 1 lit. f DSGVO (Legitimate interests). Nevertheless, we only use Google reCAPTCHA if you have given your consent.

Google also processes data from you in the USA, among other places. We would like to point out that according to the opinion of the European Court of Justice, there is currently no adequate level of protection for the transfer of data to the USA. This may be associated with various risks for the legality and security of the data processing.

Google uses so-called standard contractual clauses (= Art. 46 para. 2 and 3 DSGVO) as the basis for data processing for recipients based in third countries (outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, i.e. in particular the USA) or for data transfer there. Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) are templates provided by the EU Commission and are intended to ensure that your data comply with European data protection standards even if they are transferred to third countries (such as the USA) and stored there. Through these clauses, Google undertakes to comply with the European level of data protection when processing your relevant data, even if the data is stored, processed and managed in the US. These clauses are based on an implementing decision of the EU Commission. You can find the decision and the corresponding standard contractual clauses here, among other places: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?locale=de

The Google Ads Data Processing Terms, which correspond to the standard contractual clauses, can be found at https://business.safety.google/adsprocessorterms/.

You can learn a little more about reCAPTCHA on Google’s web developer page at https://developers.google.com/recaptcha/. Google does go into more detail here about the technical development of reCAPTCHA, but you will search in vain for precise information about data storage and privacy-related topics there as well. A good overview of Google’s basic use of data can be found in the company’s own privacy policy at https://www.google.com/intl/de/policies/privacy/.

All texts are protected by copyright.

Source: Created with the privacy generator by AdSimple.
Translation: From German to English with the DeepL Translator.

4. Newsletter

Newsletter data

If you would like to receive our newsletter, we require a valid email address as well as information that allows us to verify that you are the owner of the specified email address and that you agree to receive this newsletter. No additional data is collected or is only collected on a voluntary basis. We only use this data to send the requested information and do not pass it on to third parties.

We will, therefore, process any data you enter onto the contact form only with your consent per Art. 6 (1) (a) DSGVO. You can revoke consent to the storage of your data and email address as well as their use for sending the newsletter at any time, e.g. through the “unsubscribe” link in the newsletter. The data processed before we receive your request may still be legally processed.

The data provided when registering for the newsletter will be used to distribute the newsletter until you cancel your subscription when said data will be deleted. Data we have stored for other purposes (e.g. email addresses for the members area) remain unaffected.

5. Plugins and tools

Google Web Fonts

For uniform representation of fonts, this page uses web fonts provided by Google. When you open a page, your browser loads the required web fonts into your browser cache to display texts and fonts correctly.

For this purpose your browser has to establish a direct connection to Google servers. Google thus becomes aware that our web page was accessed via your IP address. The use of Google Web fonts is done in the interest of a uniform and attractive presentation of our website. This constitutes a justified interest pursuant to Art. 6 (1) (f) DSGVO.

If your browser does not support web fonts, a standard font is used by your computer.

Further information about handling user data, can be found at https://developers.google.com/fonts/faq and in Google’s privacy policy at https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/.