Data Privacy Day: A Reminder to Boost IT Security

Data Privacy Day: A Reminder to Boost IT Security

Data privacy is an important aspect these days as data is the most precious thing for businesses as well as individuals. Enormous data is being processed every second around the world and in every sector.  With the increasing adoption of technology, the risk of losing the data to cyber criminals has also increased. Though, businesses have started understanding the value of data thus they adopt effective measures to safeguard it. Even though, the awareness is still very low for emerging market like India. Data Privacy Day is celebrated globally to increase the awareness about importance of safeguarding data and building the best security architecture. On this occasion, the IT leaders have shared their views with DT. Take a look:

“A Zero Trust Mindset Will Define Modern Data Security Protocols Further Helping Us Shape Data Privacy Values”

“With cyber threats becoming increasingly sophisticated, businesses, people and communities at large are highly exposed to malicious attacks. Ransomware and data theft have been a persistent issue through the years globally as well as in India. Dell Technologies 2022 Global Breakthrough Report brought to light some concerning facts — 74% Indian business saw loss of mission critical data due to a cybersecurity incident and almost 40% of the workforce admitted to not having improved their data management knowledge after a serious attack — underlining that cybersecurity cannot be an afterthought anymore.”

“Data Privacy Day serves as a reminder to us all to treat our critical data with gravity. Organizations need to shift their focus to a more proactive security strategy, catering to data needs at the perimeter and also securing the supply chain. The realization is sinking in that the time to #FortifyYourSecurity is now. In the coming years, a Zero Trust mindset will define modern data security protocols further helping us shape data privacy values. The need of the hour is to develop a more holistic approach towards developing robust cyber security and data protection strategies. Even the smallest of efforts like choosing a VPN, conducting a password audit and investing in the correct infrastructure solutions, will go a long way in protecting crucial data. Afterall, Data Privacy is not about complicated measures, it's about efficiency.”

- Ripu Bajwa, Director and General Manager, Data Protection Solutions, Dell Technologies India

“Phishing, Improper Digital Socialization, And A Lack Of Digital Parenting Are The Riskiest Factors Threatening Data Privacy”

“Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the edtech industry has seen massive growth across all levels of education. While the transition to digital applications ensured that students suffered the least, the shift came with its own set of challenges. While, on the one hand, data privacy becomes a crucial challenge for everyone, it is amplified with respect to the data of children. Phishing, improper digital socialization, and a lack of digital parenting are the riskiest factors threatening data privacy. Therefore, it is imperative for the entire edtech ecosystem to identify the problem at its root to eliminate it entirely. To safeguard the digital interests of their learners, parents, and teachers, and protect their curriculum data, industry players can begin by obtaining consent from the learners' guardians and complying with legal obligations. Learner delight must include conforming to the security and privacy of Learner Data along with guardian and teacher, with end-to-end experiences in perspective; and must protect the Parent/Teacher preferences allowed as appropriate.”

- Anil Kommineni, CTO, Infinity Learn by Sri Chaitanya

“Organizations Should Take Care To Continuously Educate Themselves And Every Single Employee”

“A robust IT infrastructure is the foundation of a successful business - and data privacy relies on that as well. The hardware and software components - facilities, data centers, servers, routers, CMS, CRM, ERP,- serve as the foundation upon which defenses and protections can be put in place to protect data and help a company comply with various, ever-changing data protection laws. ●  Organizations must realize that security and privacy aren’t just a priority - they are a necessity. Security and privacy needs to be built into everything the organization does: ensuring privacy by design across the entire organization and its products; ensuring access controls are advanced and up to date; taking precautions to always reduce the risk of improper access; making sure all sensitive data is encrypted, whether at rest or in transit. Additionally, organizations should take care to continuously educate themselves and every single employee - for instance, how to properly handle data both business information about Celonis as well as our customer’s data that we are responsible for - to be certain everyone is part of privacy and security efforts, and sees themselves as stewards to help protect the company and customers. At Celonis, we have mandatory privacy training courses every employee must do. A dedicated internal Data Privacy Team maintains and further develops the Celonis Privacy Program. How the privacy program will be managed in the long term as well as who will manage it, are questions that should be considered from the very beginning.”

- Anitha S. George, Vice President and India Head, Celonis

“A Holistic Approach Should Be Adopted to Ensure That Organizations Can Harness Real-Time Data Insights Without Data Privacy Issues Arising”

“Data Privacy Day should act as a reminder that every individual within an organization requires a basic understanding of their internal privacy rules and regulations. It has become more important than ever for organizations to ensure they implement good practice, as not adhering to stringent guidelines can have serious financial repercussions.

“As data privacy becomes increasingly crucial in today’s data driven world, there’s a growing need for roles where the highest standards can be implemented. Our research found that by 2030, businesses will have “Chief Trust Officers” in place that will be responsible for setting the foundation of governance, outlining policies and procedures for all staff to follow. Ultimately, a holistic approach should be adopted to ensure that organizations can harness real-time data insights without data privacy issues arising. Understanding the data lineage, managing user access through a data catalogue, and ensuring people understand how to draw from and use different data sources responsibly through data literacy education, are key to preventing new compliance concerns, and should be front of mind for Chief Trust Officers. 

“Data Privacy Day is also a timely reminder to take a look beyond the usual access controls and think about how analytics could be used to support compliance. Analytics programmes can help IT teams visualise who has access to what information and if that remains relevant to their role. For instance, this could be through bringing together disparate data sets on user access controls and HR lists of leavers, starters and changers to ensure that there are no anomalies where people retain access to information that is no longer appropriate to their role. This helps businesses introduce real intelligence into the management of data privacy to reduce the risk of human error and streamline processes for IT teams.”

- Adam Mayer, Director, Qlik

“Data Privacy Policies Play A Vital Role Of All Business Strategies, Regardless The Size Of The Company”

“In today’s era, with companies undergoing a rapid digital transformation, data privacy compliance has emerged as an important concern driving crucial business decisions. As companies expand their digital footprints and massive amounts of data are being generated and transferred globally, cybersecurity vulnerabilities continue to upsurge. The Data Privacy Day is a reminder for organizations to evaluate their cyber risks and ensure strong data privacy and security policies and practices are in place, but also in such a way that will not impede innovation within the digital economy.  It is a balancing act, and necessitates risk assessment.  Due to the growing complexity of data flows, enterprises must evolve previous ways of securing data in transit and at rest to a posture of constant governance where all data is protected.”

“Data privacy policies play a vital role of all business strategies, regardless the size of the company. It is not only organizations which have evolved in terms of digital adoption, but hackers also have evolved the way they perform cybercrimes. To address external security threats, organizations must deploy and frequently update the basic processes such as two-factor authentication, firewalls and anti-malware solutions. Additionally, they can also implement extra advanced strategies such as Trusted Platform Module (TPM) capabilities and adopting Zero Trust architecture. Another crucial step towards comprehensive data privacy compliance is to be aware of which data is stored and exactly where. The human factor is often the most vulnerable in the data protection chain and organizations need to ensure employees are well-versed with the compliance regulations and best security practices by providing them with both training and proper guidelines for those who come into contact with the most sensitive data types, whether personal data or not.”

“At Equinix, security and privacy has always been at paramount. With strongly adhering to data privacy and cybersecurity policies and practices, we are uniquely positioned to support data privacy compliance requirements of many of the largest enterprises in the world through cloud adjacency. Through our Equinix Privacy Office, we proactively manage our own compliance with applicable new and evolving data privacy laws and seek to assist customers to do the same.”

- Peter Waters, Senior Vice President, Legal, Equinix

“Data Privacy Day Is an Opportunity for Businesses to Identify What More They Can Do to Build Trust”

“Data Privacy Day is an opportunity for businesses to take inventory of their protection practices and identify what more they can do to build trust. Keeping the end user’s privacy interests at heart and leading with transparency is a fool-proof strategy; it will never fail you. Seize the moment by reviewing your data processing activities to understand what’s being collected, how it’s being stored, and who it’s being shared with. If you haven’t already, ensure systems are in place to appropriately record consent, establish audit trails that can track to your entire data environment, and develop processes for inbound requests to remove, erase, or modify data upon request. Don’t forget your responsibility extends to your suppliers and partners who have access to employee or customer data, so hold them to the same standard and review their practices as well.”

“Although Data Privacy Day only comes once a year, there is no doubt that it serves as a timely reminder for businesses to put privacy at the forefront and to continue to do so every day after that. By these taking fundamental steps, businesses will be able to improve their resiliency and navigate today’s new landscape successfully.”

 

- Bakshish Dutta, Country Sales Manager, India & SAARC, Druva

 

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