Owing to the number of breaches that are on the rise, on this data privacy day, there is a serious need for individuals and organizations to be alert and aware about how their data is collected, used, shared and what steps need to be taken to better manage personal information. Businesses must constantly monitor the changing data landscape and be alert to new tools and challenges. They must be aware of the ever-evolving privacy regulations and security threats, which may appear from anywhere around the globe.
Data Privacy Day 2023: Here’s what some industry experts say:
Drew Bagley, VP & Counsel for Privacy and Cyber Policy, CrowdStrike, says,
“Today we live such ultra-connected and busy lives with technology omnipresent yet transparency and security often lagging behind. It is important to remember that cyberattacks pose some of the most significant threats to privacy today. This makes Data Privacy Day a terrific opportunity for individuals and organizations processing data to reflect on key privacy principles and responsibilities.
In recent years we have seen a significant rise in data leak extortion incidents, whereby cyber threat actors attempt to hold data hostage – including personal or health information – unless they are paid. Identity-based attacks are also on the rise where compromised credentials are leveraged to access accounts and access sensitive data. Concurrent with this trend, countries around the globe have adopted privacy regulations that include cybersecurity requirements. Therefore, it is important for individuals and organizations alike to ask what the current risks to their privacy are and how they’re mitigating them.
As we recognize Data Privacy Day, it is important to reflect on what holistic data protection entails, and how critical cybersecurity is, not only to compliance but to protecting privacy. For policy makers and regulated organizations alike, it is important to focus on the big picture goal of incentivizing the adoption of the best way to protect data rather than arbitrary geo-restrictions not respected by cyber adversaries.”
Peter Waters, Senior Vice President, Legal at Equinix, says,
“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.”