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Every new year welcomes yet another Data Privacy Week, celebrated from the 24th to the 28th of January. Convention 108 in 1981 was the first international data privacy and protection treaty.
Data Protection Day was introduced on April 26, 2006, to commemorate the signing of the treaty. The date of observance was initially set on January 28. But in 2022, this annual holiday was formally expanded to a week-long Data Privacy Week campaign.
Data Privacy Week raises awareness about the importance of protecting personal data. Data breaches and cyber-attacks have become increasingly common, necessitating the commemorative week.
In a recently conducted research by Pew Research Centre, it is seen that 79% of Americans are concerned by how businesses make use of their personal data. While 84% of consumers say that they remain loyal to a brand with strong data security measures. Similarly, 48% of people have stopped purchasing from businesses with privacy concerns.
40% of businesses that have amped up spending their spending in regard to stricter data privacy laws have seen benefits that are double their initial expenditure.
Data Privacy Week helps both companies and individuals. It teaches people the best ways to use personal data and protect it from unauthorized access.
Let's go through the basics of data privacy to brush up on the knowledge we might or might not have just yet.
Data privacy is the ability to control how personal or confidential information is collected, used, stored, and shared. It is a set of laws and regulations that protect individuals and organizations from unauthorized or malicious use of their data.
Data privacy includes the right to know what data is being collected, how it is being used, and who has access to it. It also includes the right to delete or destroy data when no longer needed.
Whether yours is a big or small-scale organization, data privacy is crucial and non-negotiable. If you want to sustain your business model, it will not be possible without data privacy. Your data must be protected at all costs, and there is no doubting that.
But the question remains: how can organizations implement data privacy? Here are some ways to do so.
Organizations should establish a team of personnel responsible for data privacy and compliance. The team should be able to enforce data privacy policies and audit data usage.
Organizations should implement technical measures to protect data. This includes encryption, digital rights management, and data masking.
Organizations should conduct audits to ensure data privacy policies are being followed.
Establishing clear policies that govern how data is collected, used, stored, and shared is key to ensuring data privacy. Such policies should include the type of data collected, the purpose of collecting the data, and the rights of the data subject.
Ensure all employees know the company’s data privacy policies and procedures. Provide training and guidance on handling customer data and responding to customer inquiries or customer requests.
Educate customers on the data privacy policies and procedures of the organization. Provide customers with information about how their data is used, stored, and shared. Let them know the choices they have for controlling the use of their data.
Regularly monitor internal processes and procedures to ensure compliance with data privacy laws. This includes conducting regular audits and reviews of data handling practices. Ensuring employees follow the policies and procedures is also a part of it.
Encryption and access control to protect customer data from unauthorized access is crucial. Abide by data loss prevention solutions to detect unauthorized access or data exfiltration.
Organizations should respond quickly and appropriately in the event of a data breach. This includes notifying customers of the breach and mitigating any potential harm.
Familiarize all your team with the basics of data privacy, and this includes developers, testers, marketers, and even customer service agents. Create a data privacy policy that outlines the company's expectations and obligations. This policy should be reviewed regularly and updated when necessary.
Develop processes and procedures to ensure that customer data is appropriately handled. This includes measures to:
Make sure that data privacy is incorporated into the product development process. This includes incorporating data privacy into product specifications and testing procedures.
Monitor compliance with data privacy regulations and take corrective action when necessary. This includes staying updated with changing regulations and responding quickly to data privacy issues.
Regularly train and educate your product team on data privacy laws and regulations. This ensures your product team is aware of their obligations and that they are taking the necessary steps to protect customer data.
Data privacy is important for companies. It helps protect the confidential information of their customers and prototypes. Companies use data privacy to ensure that their data is secured. If you want to create a company that adheres to the legal code of conduct and its brand name is not tarnished while remaining profitable, you cannot cut corners with data security and privacy.
If you need a data privacy provider for your business, consider We45. You build an application that's an innovation for your customer and aims to benefit their life. If there is one single loophole or vulnerability that threat actors can overwrite, you can be in big trouble. We conduct a thorough search to ensure that your applications are secure inside out. We provide a state-of-the-art approach for our client's AppSec program. To know more, talk to our consultants today!
