Private data protection is one of the most significant issues in the world today. With data considered a critical asset, various companies find massive value in collecting, sharing, and using it. In fact, tech giants like Google, Facebook, and Amazon have been successful because of the data economy.
For businesses to thrive, they must be able to build trust and accountability with their customers and partners who expect complete private data security. That said, there must be transparency in how businesses request consent and they should abide by the privacy policies.
How to Ensure Private Data Protection
To ensure data privacy, businesses should limit data collection – whether it is with passive location tracking, apps secretly getting information from one’s personal address book, or websites recording the user’s every keystroke. In addition to this, it is imperative that employees undergo regular training on data protection. This will give them the know-how of the processes and procedures necessary to guarantee proper collection, sharing, and use of sensitive data.
All companies must adhere to data protection regulations. As more data security regulations are being enforced worldwide, global privacy requirements and demands will also change. As such, it is important to ensure that companies are complying with the law and guaranteeing data privacy.
Data Protection Laws
Legislators have seen the importance of enforcing data privacy regulations and the need to hold companies liable for end-user data. Let’s dlve deeper at how the most recent data privacy regulations affect users and companies.
1. GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)
Implemented since May 2018, the GDPR’s main goal is to protect EU residents’ personal data. To comply, companies have to seek consent for opt-in email and allow users to request for a copy or deletion of their data. GDPR enables consumers to enjoy certain rights over their data while also putting in place security obligations on companies that process their data.
For companies, responding to subject access requests might seem to be an overwhelming aspect of the GDPR. This is because most organizations find it hard to locate, provide, or delete an individual’s personal data on request. Many data privacy officers depend on GDPR compliance software that automatically finds and classifies personal data to keep it protected and to help expedite data subject access requests.
2. HIPAA (Health Information Privacy and Portability Act)
If the EU has GDPR, the US has HIPAA. It is one of the most prominent US data protection and privacy laws at the federal level. This data privacy regulation was put in place to safeguard patients personal health information. Healthcare providers have always been a major target for data breaches. In fact, health records are extremely valuable—approximately 10-20 times more valuable than credit card numbers.
3. Data Privacy in Healthcare
After the US Congress mandated HIPAA in 1996, appeal for robust data privacy protection has increased. This is due to the growing number of data breaches. Because of this, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued the Privacy Rule in December 2000 to carry out HIPAA’s directive to protect the privacy of individually identifiable health information. The goal of this rule is to make sure that a patient’s health data is properly secured while allowing covered entities to process health information as needed.
4. GLBA (Gramm-leach-Bliley Act)
Another data protection regulation is known as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA). The GLBA requires financial institutions to protect consumer financial data by leveraging classification and quickly identifying where your sensitive financial data is located. By complying with GLBA, companies can avoid potential fines and reputational harm due to the unauthorized sharing or loss of sensitive financial data.
5. CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act)
Implemented on January 1, 2020, California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) aims to identify and discover personal information, fulfill data subject access requests, and protect consumer data. This will enable consumers to control how companies will collect and use their personal data.
Swift Systems
Swift Systems is an IT firm based in Maryland that provides organizations with reliable private data security services. Our IT team can eliminate the risk of data loss and ensure fast recovery and agile restoration by deploying modern data protection technologies. For a free quotation, contact Swift Systems.