Practical Practices for Data Privacy Week
Category
News, Privacy
Risk Level
As a Data Privacy Week Champion, and as part of our commitment to the link between cybersecurity and privacy, we wanted to share some best practices from the National Cybersecurity Alliance about how to protect your privacy online. The practices can apply to both you and your family, but also the organizations you work for.
For Individuals.
Understand the privacy/convenience tradeoff
Many accounts ask for access to personal information, such as your geographic location, contacts list, and photo album, before you even use their services. This personal information has tremendous value to businesses and allows some to even offer you their services at little to no cost. Make informed decisions about whether or not to share your data with certain businesses by considering the amount of personal information they are asking for, and weighing it against the benefits you may receive in return. Be thoughtful about who gets that information and wary of apps or services that require access to information that is not required or relevant for the services they are offering. Delete unused apps on your internet-connected devices and keep others secure by performing updates.
Manage your privacy
Once you have decided to use an app or set up a new account, check the privacy and security settings on web services and apps and set them to your comfort level for information sharing. Each device, application or browser you use will have different features to limit how and with whom you share information. Get started with NCA’s Manage Your Privacy Settings page to check the settings of social media accounts, retail stores, apps and more.
Protect your data
Data privacy and cybersecurity go hand in hand. Keep your data secure by creating long, unique passwords and storing them in a password manager. Add another layer of security by enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA) wherever possible, especially on accounts with sensitive information. MFA has been found to block 99.9% of automated attacks when enabled and can ensure your data is protected, even in the event of a data breach.
For Businesses.
Conduct an assessment
Conduct an assessment of your data collection practices. Whether you operate locally, nationally, or globally, understand which privacy laws and regulations apply to your business. Follow reasonable cybersecurity measures to keep individuals’ personal information safe from inappropriate and unauthorized access and make sure the personal data you collect is processed in a fair manner and only collected for relevant and legitimate purposes.
Don’t forget to maintain oversight of partners and vendors as well. If someone provides services on your behalf, you are also responsible for how they collect and use your consumers’ personal information.
Adopt a privacy framework
Researching and adopting a privacy framework can help you manage risk and create a culture of privacy in your organization by building privacy into your business. Get started by checking out the following frameworks: NIST Privacy Framework, AICPA Privacy Management Framework, ISO/IEC 27701 - International Standard for Privacy Information Management, or contact Hive Systems for assistance with navigating the complex landscape of privacy regulations.
Educate employees
Create a culture of privacy in your organization by educating your employees of their and your organization’s obligations to protecting personal information. Educate employees on your company’s privacy policy and teach new employees about their role in your privacy culture during the onboarding process. Engage staff by asking them to consider how privacy and data security applies to the work they do on a daily basis. Better security and privacy behaviors at home will translate to better security and privacy practices at work. Teach employees how to update their privacy and security settings on work and personal accounts, and explore this guide for more tips.
Other Resources.
If you’re looking for direct links to update your privacy settings on popular devices and online services, or to read about the platforms’ privacy policies and statements, you can check out this great resource from the NCA.
You can also subscribe to the ACT Digest from Hive Systems to stay on top of the latest cybersecurity and privacy news - delivered straight to your inbox. If you prefer social media, follow us on all the major platforms.
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