EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

Data Privacy Day is a holiday that encourages businesses and individuals to review their online practices. It represents an international effort to raise awareness about how data is collected, stored and used. The day serves as a catalyst for organizations and individuals alike to take action around data privacy. How can your business increase privacy and security online?

Everyone should use a Virtual Private Network (VPN).

VPNs ensure that your data, and your employees’ data, is encrypted as it moves through the internet, preventing cyber criminals from intercepting it. Those financial spreadsheets? Don’t let them surface on the dark web. VPNs are especially useful for those who occasionally use public wifi network.

Safeguard the site.

It sounds obviously, but it merits repeating. Businesses build trust and brand loyalty by protecting data. If a website doesn’t look secure, 84% of consumers will abandon a potential online purchase. Many harbor concerns about what happens to their data once it’s in a businesses hands. They want to know how it’s safeguarded. Drive action around website security and data privacy practices and your business may have a competitive edge.

Analytics and automation technologies for legislative requirements.

These types of tools can assist organizations in meeting new mandates that focus on customer and auditor requests. CCPA legislation, for example, requires organizations to provide a way for customers to access the data that’s been collected about them and to request for that data to be deleted.

For many businesses, these requests seem frivolous, but failing to comply could result in repercussions. Virtual tools can help provide fast and easy means of disclosure.

Ad blockers can reduce online tracking.

Cookies and other types of online trackers are generally designed to optimize personalization of advertisements. (Remember the home gym that you looked at? And now you’re seeing under-desk treadmill ads? And, now that you’re working from home, your employer is periodically taking screenshots of your monitor? Yeah.)

But blocking ads gives employees more privacy on the web. It makes experiences less personalized, but a little less creepy, and may provide greater privacy within the workplace.

Consider identity theft protection services for customers.

Ahead of signing up, research the organizations that your enterprise will potentially work with. Clearly understand the services that they do or do not offer. In the event that your clients’ data is compromised in a breach, you’ll have a plan in place to mitigate breach fallout.

Here’s what Tim Cook has to say about data privacy in 2021:

Add your own #DataPrivacyDay posts to Twitter!

For more information on Data Privacy Day, visit Cyber Talk’s glossary page.