The rise of information technology (IT) has changed life as we know it, from the way people work to communication and even the way people think. How data is shared and stored has changed. And as data becomes more powerful, regulators and citizens are more concerned about preserving privacy.
In the past, data was stored manually – making it relatively easy to keep physical documents safe. Businesses could “build walls” around data to secure it and then defend those walls from attacks.
However, in recent years, the rise of cloud databases, email, mobile apps, data centers, and cloud-based systems has greatly increased the risk of an information breach. Thus, there are new challenges for data protection and information security. And a need to develop new approaches to protect data in this new world of IT.
Navigating the New Business Landscape: The Impacts of Technology’s Explosive Growth on Privacy and Public Safety
Decades ago, we didn’t yet know the profound impact IT would have on business or human life. It all started as technology exploded, providing everyone access to powerful tools without the necessary skills or training to manage the data.
Very little data management training is implemented across departments, yet all kinds of employees manage data. And information security teams can hardly keep up with the number of apps and devices people continue to connect to the company network.
As a result, employees unknowingly expose sensitive data – and create massive distrust among company stakeholders.
With advancements in AI, machine learning, and cloud computing, privacy, and security risks have greatly increased. There is no way for companies to contain this information. It all lives outside of the business. That makes protecting it far more complicated.
So much so that some even argue privacy is dead.
As a business, it is only natural to continue to rely on IT to remain competitive. Still, without the proper privacy and security programs in place, businesses are at risk.
It’s time to rethink your approach to data protection and security and move towards a proactive, risk-based approach that will keep your privacy and security program safe. Companies that recognize how IT has created new opportunities and risks regarding privacy and security will be successful.
The appropriate measures should be taken to provide customers and partners or vendors with this important fundamental human right.
Making Privacy a Core Value: How Organizations Can Prioritize Data Protection
With more capacity, capability, and reach, information flows more freely now than ever before. Look at your phone. No matter where you go, this device is sharing your data. Where you move around the globe is being recorded, also known as your geolocation.
Everyone leaves a digital footprint everywhere they go.
This is just one of many examples of how the flow of information is being directed. Yet as information flows freely, customers want businesses to maintain a great sense of privacy for consumers.
So, what is privacy?
When TrustArc’s European consultant Ralph T. O’Brien was asked this question, he viewed it as an inherent social right. Yet, in America, there’s no right to privacy embedded in the Constitution. It’s only an implied right to privacy. With this in mind, how can companies prioritize data protection to make privacy a priority?
Businesses need to understand that privacy is a derived right, and we have privacy laws because there is an assumption that something in privacy is not working. Companies need to weigh the importance of what they need to do and what consumers expect of them.
Organizations need to be more transactional in their communication. For example, instead of saying, “Your privacy is important to us,” consider saying, “You want something, and in order for you to get that, we need to use your data in these ways.”
Not only is this a powerful message, but it also sets expectations realistically regarding privacy and how the company prioritizes it. More transactional messages about how data is used provide a more accurate, clear picture to consumers.
Currently, most privacy policies are too difficult and complicated for consumers to understand.
To successfully make data protection a priority in your organization, it must be viewed as a fundamental right that should be maintained. The importance of privacy should be ingrained in your day-to-day interaction with customers, making it a core value of the brand.
Why Regulation Alone Isn’t Enough: The Need for Continuous Adaptation in Data Protection
While privacy laws are a good deterrent to keep businesses from collecting, processing, and using data unethically, they are not enough. Ultimately, striking the right balance between privacy and the flow of information is the key to an organization’s success. So what can businesses like yours do?
Invest in privacy technology.
The core of the message of privacy and technology has not changed. So what is continuously changing in the privacy world?
The density of data has changed. And the problem is bigger and only continues to grow in the future. The more data you put in one place, the more opportunity there is for nonpersonal data to become a preferential key to personal data. The truth is, it will never be 100% secure. But you can drastically minimize the risks.
