January 28th is International Data Privacy Day, a global effort to inform people and companies how personal information is constantly being collected and used in today’s digital age. Since 2008, the US and Canada expanded this effort to increase awareness through the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA).
This year’s theme is Respect Privacy, and the NCSA is encouraging individuals to “Own Your Privacy” and encouraging businesses to “Respect Privacy”.
Here are quick tips from the NCSA for businesses working to respect consumers privacy.
- If you collect it, protect it. Follow reasonable security measures to keep individuals’ personal information safe from inappropriate and unauthorized access. Make sure the personal data you collect is processed in a fair manner and only collected for relevant and legitimate purposes.
- Consider a privacy framework. Research and adopt a privacy framework to help manage risk and create a culture of privacy in your organization.
- Conduct an assessment of your data collection practices. Understand which privacy laws and regulations apply to your business. Educate your employees of their and your organization’s obligations to protecting personal information.
- Transparency builds trust. Be open and honest about how you collect, use and share consumers’ personal information. Communicate clearly and concisely what privacy means to your organization and the steps you take to achieve and maintain privacy.
- Maintain oversight of partners and vendors. If someone provides services on your behalf, you are also responsible for how they collect and use your consumers’ personal information.
Questions regarding cyber security or the protection of data and privacy? – Drop us a line at solutions@thetek.com
