Data Privacy Day – We Are an Official Champion of Data Privacy Day Learn to Better Manage Data and Safeguard Your Privacy This Data Privacy Day
Happy National Data Privacy Day! On Jan. 27, 2014, the 113th U.S. Congress adopted S. Resolution 337, a non-binding resolution expressing support for the designation of January 28 as National Data Privacy Day. Data Privacy Day is an international effort to educate people about personal data collection and usage. The day is also meant to empower businesses to respect people’s privacy, safeguard data, and enable trust. In a world of frequent and major data breaches, privacy is everyone’s concern.
Consumers shop, pay bills, and conduct much of their lives online yet most understand little about privacy policies and how their personally identifiable information (PII) is collected, used, and shared by businesses. The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) took effect this year yet sixty-three percent of adults feel they little or no understanding of current laws and regulations that protect privacy. Seventy-eight percent of adults in the United States feel they understand little or nothing about what the U.S. government does with the data it collects about citizens. Fifty-nine percent state they know little about what companies do with the data they collect.
Why Care About Online Privacy?
Companies can monitor users’ and customers’ online behavior and sell the data to advertisers and data aggregators for money. Seemingly harmless information like restaurants check-ins, holiday posts on social media, or purchase histories are used to make inferences about your socioeconomic status, preferences, and more. Consumers should understand the true value of their data and the price is using free apps and online accounts.
With the California Consumer Privacy Act taking effect this year and other states considering similar legislation, Data privacy will become a central issue for businesses in 2020. Our website,
AskCyberSecrity.com will help you or your business learn to be safer online, better manage privacy, and protect your data and money.
Data Privacy Steps for Individuals
Manage Your Family’s Online Exposure
Be careful to Safeguard Personal Information. Personal data like location data has value to businesses. They are willing to pay for it. Protect information like shopping habits, location data, and purchase history. That information is collected through apps, websites, and credit card usage.
Are You Oversharing Data?
Understand how apps collect data and what they’re doing with It. Information about you, such as the games you play on your phone or laptop, your phone contacts, where you shop, and your physical location all have monetary value to advertisers. Control who gets that information. Understand how it’s collected through websites and apps.
Your Apps are Collecting Data About You
Delete unused apps and delete stored memory cache. Keep apps and devices updated with the latest security patches. Review app permissions when installing new apps or whenever they get an update.
Be Mindful About What You Share Online
Think before posting photos of yourself, children, travel destinations, or your workplace online. Consider what it reveals, who might see it including hackers, and how it could be perceived now and in the future.
Set Security and Privacy Settings
Set privacy and security settings on websites and apps to share only the information you are comfortable sharing. Each device, application, or browser has different features to limit how and with whom you share information. Limiting permission may mean you may not be able to use all features of the app or may mean you are denied access completely for not giving up your information.
Data Privacy Steps for Businesses
Policy transparency builds trust. Whether you’re a small business or a large corporation, be open and truthful about how your business collects, uses, and share customer data.
Help Employees Manage Their Individual Privacy
Encourage employees to update their individual account privacy settings on apps, hardware, and websites
Host a Lunch and Learn
Invite outside speakers to talk to employees about why privacy matters.
Create a Data Privacy Aware Culture in the Workplace
Engage employees by asking them to consider and share how data privacy and data security applies to their daily work they do.
Help Employees Manage Their Individual Privacy
Encourage employees to update their individual account privacy settings on devices, apps, and online accounts
Give Back to Your Community
Organize a company-wide volunteer day with local schools to teach students about privacy and online safety
Organize A Competition That Helps Employees Learn About the Importance of Data Privacy
Recognize and reward employees for being finding privacy issues and rectify them.
Source: The National Cyber Security Alliance’s (NCSA) DATA PRIVACY DAY CHAMPIONS BACKGROUNDER
For more information on about Data Privacy Day, visit staysafeonline.org/data-privacy-day.
