Data privacy is something that consumers and businesses need to contend with. To win and secure consumer trust, businesses need to show that they take data privacy seriously. By data privacy, this concerns the protection of personal data from those who should not have access to it and the ability of individuals to determine who can access their personal information.
In achieving these ends, firms need to put the processing personal data together with the core principles of transparency, legitimate purpose, and proportionality. Through this a best practices framework can be fashioned.
Considering what business should be doing to respect consumer privacy and to crack down on the reasons for data breaches for Digital Journal is Geoff Bibby, SVP of Small and Medium-sized Business and Consumer Strategy at OpenText.
Bibby says that any reforms need to start with a reconsideration of the issues. Here he advices: Individuals and businesses should reflect on their current privacy practices and ensure they are building the safest habits to protect themselves and their company from cybercriminals.”
He adds that this is something very apparent during the coronavirus pandemic. Here emphasises: “Because remote work here to stay, it also serves as a reminder for businesses and employees to evaluate how they share sensitive data online.”
In terms of advice for the business leader, Bibby recommends: “Understanding how your data is being used is the first step, but actively securing your data is the most important step. Organizations and users should evaluate their current authentication practices to ensure they are building the safest habits to protect themselves and sensitive data from bad actors. It is critical that authentication controls are not only in place, but that organizations take it a step further by deploying two-factor authentication (2FA).”
The advantage of this, says Bibby: “Implementing 2FA provides an extra layer of security by making users confirm their identity, most often via a unique code sent to the user’s device, email address or through an authenticator app, after entering their username and password.”
There is more to be done, here Bibby advises: “Another common activity that many don’t consider risky is file sharing. Often when a file is too large to share securely over email, many instead use a simple and convenient file sharing platform that is a part of their current workflow like Google Drive, a personal file sharing account like Box, or just sending the files over Zoom chat. This leads to an increased risk of malware, hacking, and loss or exposure of sensitive information.”
Based on this: “Organizations should stress the importance of securely sharing files with their employees and use solutions that allow for easy and secure file sharing.”
Bibby’s final recommended is: “Organizations should also make it a habit to deploy regular security audits to identify vulnerabilities and other suspicious behavior, allowing them to ensure sensitive data is routinely being backed up. Backing up data ensures businesses and individuals have access to current versions of critical data and can keep business going in case of an attack.”
