As the amount of data in the world grows, many businesses have to reassess their privacy practices and policies. They are concerned that they may be exposed to cyberattacks or data breaches which have legal and financial ramifications. They also want to ensure their customers and employees are confident that their information is kept private.
In the past, some businesses have violated people’s privacy expectations — and this has resulted in data harms such as floods of unwanted advertising or being hacked. These incidents have eroded consumer trust and resulted in fines from regulators, proving that data privacy is a critical issue for consumers.
Data privacy is a set of guidelines for how personal information can be collected and handled, and it is typically applied to data deemed sensitive. This is generally data related to health, employment, education, criminal justice and personal finance. Data privacy is important for protecting personal information, establishing trust, complying with regulations, maintaining ethical practices, driving innovation and preserving individual autonomy.
To protect personal information, it is important to implement strong access controls. This includes authenticating users and limiting access to only the minimum necessary to do their jobs. For example, customer service representatives need to verify a person’s identity but they should not be given access to their full account details or payment information. Also, multi-factor authentication helps prevent unauthorized access and improves security. In addition to implementing these security measures, business leaders need to be aware of upcoming legislation which could impact their data practices.