Your One-Stop Guide To Understanding Data Privacy Compliance

In today’s world of website scrolling and online purchases, data changes hands about as much as – if not more than – money does. The data could involve anything from your name and address to your pictures and credit card information.

As consumers, you have no real conception of how much of your data you give away to businesses, but each time you do, you operate with the implicit trust that businesses will completely safeguard and not abuse this data. The onus then passes on to the business in question to protect this data from cybercriminals.

Thus, data privacy should be in the blueprint of a business, and consistently adhering to privacy policies should be their fundamental priority. With cybercrime on the rise, which could include anything from identity theft to massive data breaches, businesses have to put their consumers first to survive.

In this one-stop guide to understanding the data privacy landscape, we’ll explore the main issues we see businesses grapple with in this sphere, including cybersecurity threats and regulatory compliance, and outline actionable steps they can take to protect themselves and their customers.

Is Data Privacy Really That Important?

Yes. It is an individual’s fundamental right to have their personal information protected. When they choose to share that information with a site, particularly their name, address, and financial information, they trust the business to ensure that their particulars will be stored securely.

At the core, data privacy is crucial for maintaining complete trust between customers and businesses. The corporate world runs on trust. Any transaction is formed on the basis of such trust, and any breach of this trust would lead to massive reputation damage and have far-reaching consequences.

Beyond an ethical obligation to prioritise data privacy, adhering to data protection laws is also a legal obligation in several jurisdictions. Violating these laws could lead to severe financial penalties and potential closure of the business.

What Data Privacy Problems Could Businesses Encounter?

Businesses must constantly battle cybersecurity threats – Across the world, millions of cybercriminals attempt to gain access to unauthorised data, particularly through phishing attacks or malware.

Firms may also face complications regarding regulatory compliance – With the introduction of new data privacy regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), businesses that fail to comply with these laws can face hefty fines.

What Can Businesses Do?

Regular compliance audits – Ensure that they are complying with the latest data privacy regulations. This process would involve reviewing their data collection and processing practices, and their cybersecurity firewalls.

Data encryption and security – Use robust data encryption methods to safeguard sensitive information. Data encryption has to occur both in transcript and at rest, using secure channels.

Instill a culture of privacy – Invest in training to help employees understand data privacy protocols and laws. Awareness programmes may also help employees understand what to do and whom to contact in the event of a privacy breach in order to mitigate consequences.

Stay informed – The data privacy landscape is evolving and becoming more complicated on the daily. Firms have to be proactive in updating their firewalls and data encryption software and stay abreast of international data privacy news, to keep up with greater privacy concerns.

How Does enprivacy Help?

As a data privacy consultancy, we use a tri-shield model to assess your business for any potential privacy breaches.

Shield 1

Data Discovery & Compliance Kickstart – We conduct a privacy assessment and gap analysis to identify any overlooked compliance risks your business might face. Then we work with you to develop a clear and concise privacy policy, as well as a comprehensive privacy framework, to establish transparency.

Shield 2

Privacy Implementation & Protection – We’ll then work on the specifics of data policy implementation with you. We start off with data access request management, which makes sure your firm is compliant if customers want to review or delete their data. We also lay the foundation for incident response and breach management, which is part of employee privacy training and awareness, and deal with vendor vetting and third party requirements.

Shield 3

Privacy Excellence & Certification – In the third shield, we make sure your organisation meets the highest standard of data privacy regulations. We conduct privacy audits and regulations and assist you in achieving privacy certifications which help stakeholders trust your brand. Finally, we also provide assistance with the prompt identification, containment, and mitigation of any data breaches.

Privacy First, Always

It’s quite simple – any business operating online, in any form, cannot function without first ensuring consumer data is safe and secure. Ideally, robust data policies should be in place from the initial stages of setting up your online presence, with consistent audit checks and software updates thereafter.

We recognise that not all businesses might have had this advantage, but it’s better late than never to formulate and implement data protection policies. It might seem like a lot of hassle to begin with, but it’s as necessary for your business as doing your paperwork or hiring your employees. Data privacy is an imperative, both legal and ethical.