Welcome to the world of privacy

Isn’t it better to have a plan in place…

In this context, we are speaking about how data privacy affects us in everyday life. Specifically, we are here to help business owners and other professionals do their best to understand the data they collect, why they collect it, and how they protect it. 

There are laws in every country that inform you of the standards they expect, and the penalties they will enforce if you don’t do things the proper way. As important as this is, we feel it’s even more important to your business to do everything possible to protect the data. 

To be clear, we are not talking about technology solutions. We are talking about education and process. What information do you really need to collect? How long do you need to keep it? Where do you keep it? Who has access to it? 

This doesn’t just apply to your customers. It also applies to your employees, and also to anyone you do transactional business with. You can have the best system in the world, but what about a third-party with access to certain data? 

We know and understand the world of business. You have many things on your plate, and many of those are immediate and must be dealt with quickly. Data privacy is more esoteric, and in the ideal world will never cause you an issue, so why worry about it? 

The answer? Think of it like insurance. Isn’t it better to have a plan in place, mitigate the risk and give your stakeholders confidence their data is secure? Do you really want to wake up some morning and find out there has been a massive data breach, and you have no idea how to deal with it? 

On a more mundane level, do you know what a subject area request (SAR) is? Do you know a customer or employee can ask you what information you have on them in your files, and have a right to a timely and comprehensive response. 

There is a growing awareness among the general population regarding who has their data and what they use it for, and how they keep it secure. In fact, “privacy actives” will actively move their business away from a business or organization that doesn’t take the issue seriously and with a plan in place. 

The chances are good you know someone who has been the victim of a data breach. You likely know the issues it caused for them. How they felt about the source of the leak afterwards probably depends on how the business dealt with it, and how much information was at risk.  

This takes us back to the beginning. Taking data protection seriously, with clear policies and objectives, is good for business. It also doesn’t need to take a lot of your time or money. Feel free to contact us for more information, and keep checking back for more information and ideas. 

Ian’s Insights

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