data privacy

Data Privacy Essentials for Organizations

by | Jan 4, 2022

Data privacy is an essential component of data protection and deals with the proper management of sensitive data, such as personal data, financial data, and intellectual property data. This essentially involves all facets of data collection, storage, management, sharing and compliance with all applicable Data regulation and privacy laws such as HIPAA, CCPA, GDPR, etc. However, data privacy is more than just management and regulation of data as it also deals with an evolving level of public expectation of privacy. Consumers are more strident than ever on their demand to make personal information 100% secure. It has been increasingly clear over the last few years that customers want more control over their information and they want to know and be able to manage the transit of their information, who gets to see or/ and use it, and why. With data protection laws growing more stringent globally, companies need to pay keen attention to how and where their customers want control over the processing and use of their personal data. For a seamless data regulation compliance experience, please reach out to Managed IT Services Vancouver.It’s become incredibly clichéd to say that data is the new oil. But data does more or less run the economy, and the collection, Storage, transit and sharing of data can be both incredibly important and sensitive given that it can traverse through vast complexities of both technical and geopolitical norms. Given that virtually any business in today’s digital economy is dependent on data for survival, data privacy should be on top of every company’s agenda. Even for a business to safely leverage the data that they’re collecting, they should have safeguards in place to ensure data remains properly secured and consumer’s data aren’t used willy-nilly by third parties or subjected to unwarranted surveillance. Here are some reasons why businesses should pay close attention to their data privacy policies and procedures:Non-compliance with data privacy regulations can attract severe fines and injunctions as data regulatory frameworks grow increasingly stricter the world over. These fines can even go up to tens of millions of dollars and extend to multi-decade penalties. Beyond the stick of fines though, there are many more practical concerns a business needs to be cognizant of when it comes to why they should consider data privacy seriously. IT Support Vancouver can help your business develop and maintain a privacy-forward mind-set.

Data breaches could seriously injure your business

Compliance with data privacy regulations means that businesses need to adhere to certain binding legal requirements. Part of this involves implementing a high standard of security with strong security safeguards that guarantee the integrity of data. These kinds of safeguards can help your business ward off expensive cyber threats in the long term and stay compliant with evolving data regulation frameworks. This will also help your business save on costs associated with all security threats and help you avoid dips in productivity and losses in revenue. Recent statistics show that the average total cost of a data breach in the US is $3.92 million – you can enable your business to avoid such heavy penalties simply by adhering to safety protocols and regulations.

Meet your customers’ expectations of privacy

Customers are now more aware than ever about data privacy and a data breach can seriously affect their perception of your brand and company. After all, the theft of valuable customer information leaves them more vulnerable than ever to more breaches and attacks. They could find themselves to be a target for a range of crimes including identity theft and credit card fraud. IT Consulting Vancouver can make it easy for you to be completely transparent about your data privacy policies and procedures with your customers.

Make it easy to put in a formal personal data request procedure

The central tenet of all arguments around data privacy revolves around the issue of consent. Customers want to have a say in how their data is viewed, used, stored, and transmitted. This is why it behoves organizations to get ahead of the situation by making it simple and seamless for individuals and third parties to request for information. This should be a formal, trackable process for recording third-party information requests. This means that your infrastructure should be able to track exactly where private information goes. Not tracking this information can actually have an adverse impact on your business as there could be legal repercussions associated with it as well as loss in customer trust.

Always put hard limits on data collection and storage

Many companies can be loath to stop collecting some information or get rid of old or outdated information. At some point, however, companies need to realize that the more data that they hold onto, the more scope of data leaks they open themselves up to. Proactive data management requires you to minimize this risk by putting hard limits on how much confidential data you collect and store.

Block third-party websites

You may have the best relationships with certain third-party websites. But sharing data that comes under specific data regulation frameworks with these websites can open you up to both data privacy risk and litigation. Even if nothing happens other than your customers getting to know about this data sharing, you can rest assured that it will seriously undermine the perception of your business with customers.

About the Author

Andrew Dalman

Andrew Dalman, President of ActiveCo has a wealth of industry knowledge and experience, with an outstanding leadership capacity. Andrew has led the execution of multiple projects in ActiveCo with a great track record of success. Andrew believes understanding the business operations of customers is key to successfully incorporating the right technology for the business. When Andrew is not busy leading ActiveCo, he enjoys rock climbing and spending time with his family.

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