Summary: Data is the most valuable asset for businesses today. Because of its importance and sensitivity, it is constantly under threat from cyber criminals, hackers, and fraudsters. When compromised it can lead to episodes of data breaches resulting in lawsuits and penalties. Data Protection and Data Privacy are frequently used interchangeably; however, in this blog, we will learn how they differ and why both are necessary for data security.
Data Protection and Data Privacy are frequently used reciprocally, though, their application, purpose, and requirements are very different from each other. ‘Data Protection’ refers to the steps taken by organizations to ensure that sensitive data is protected against cyber threats, human errors, and mishaps. Whereas, ‘Data Privacy’ refers to the proper handling of personal information (PII) to ensure that the data collected, stored, processed, and shared comply with legal and regulatory norms; respecting individuals’ (data subjects) rights.
Data Protection Vs Data Privacy:
Data is a valuable asset for any organization seeking to thrive in the modern era. As a result, the importance of Data Protection and privacy grows exponentially year after year. Let’s take a look at some of the key differentiators of Data Protection and Data privacy that set them apart despite both aiming to safeguard the information shared.
| Data Privacy Vs Data Protection |
| Parameters | Data Privacy | Data Protection |
| Definition | Data Privacy is all about what is done with an individual’s data and is essential for protecting sensitive information from being compromised or exploited. | Data Protection is essential for protecting organizational assets to ensure that Data Privacy controls are implemented effectively and efficiently. |
| Focus | Protects data subjects’ (Individual) rights, like the right to control personal information (PII).
Data subjects control Data Privacy. | Focuses on data security and protects sensitive data from cyber threats and unauthorized access for compliance purposes.
Organizations ensure Data Protection. |
| Purpose | Helps businesses maintain customer trust by ensuring that data is collected, processed, stored, and disposed of in line with industry best practices. | Protect data from the risk of data leakage, theft, and data breaches. |
| Scope | Data Privacy applies only to the personal and private data of individuals that includes names, addresses, banking details, DoB, etc. | It covers all sensitive as well as confidential business and personal data, including investor, financial, and intellectual property information, etc. |
| Advantage | It helps data subjects to make informed decisions about where, when, and how their data is processed. | Data Protection protocols when properly implemented provide a secure data transmission experience for the organization and its customers over physically spread out locations. |
| Responsibilities | Experts with legislative and policymaking experience are in charge of Data Privacy. | Experts with Technical background, security, and compliance backgrounds are responsible for Data Protection. |
| Example | Banks contain the personal data of customers that must be protected from unauthorized access to protect customer identity and maintain the bank’s reputation. | Banks also contain a lot of sensitive banking information related to monetary transactions, customer information, and other such data. This data must be safeguarded to maintain investor and customer confidence. |
How to Protect Your Data and Maintain Data Privacy?
Implement Strong Access Controls: “Who can access What” needs to be clearly defined in the Data Protection Policy (DPP) and then protected using strong passwords, MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication), limiting access to sensitive & confidential data like business plans, customer’s PII (Personally Identifiable Information), employee records, etc.
Update Software and Hardware: Software must be regularly updated to avoid vulnerabilities, the same principle applies to your IT hardware as well. Outdated assets can become the weak link that cyber attackers can exploit. Regular updates ensure that your systems are up to date with security patches, bug fixes, and the latest features. For Example, newer software updates may include strong encryption algorithms for improved access controls.
Data Encryption: You can use the built-in encryption features of your operating system, such as Windows BitLocker, or third-party software tools, such as LastPass, VeraCrypt, DiskCryptor, etc., to encrypt your drive. Encrypting your confidential data ensures the safety of your data and helps you maintain Data Privacy. Encryption is especially useful when data is stored, transmitted, or in transit.
Data Disposal Policy: Data is especially vulnerable when your IT assets are being transferred, repurposed, or disposed of. All data-bearing devices must be properly sanitized as per industry standards and regulatory requirements.
For Example, Your organization might be in the BFSI ( Banking Financial Services & Insurance) sector and you may fall under the purview of SOX or PCI-DSS or you could be under GDPR, CCPA, etc. Each of them has data disposal requirements that must be fulfilled to remain compliant. A robust data disposal policy will address and implement SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) for data safeguarding, data access, and data disposal. You can learn more about Data Disposal Policy in our Knowledge Series chapter. To read Click Here!
Train Employees: Your employees are the first line of defense against data breaches and cyber-attacks. Regular training sessions with cybersecurity experts, and management coaches, plus having regular audits to test employee understanding and readiness are essential data security requirements. The training should aim at coaching them on the best practices of Data Privacy, Data Security, and ways to safeguard against cybercrime.
Data Privacy Audits: Having regular Data Privacy audits is a dependable way to test your systems, and witness their strengths and weaknesses in real-time. These audits help you identify potential vulnerabilities that can be rectified before they can be exploited. The audits should include critical analysis of your data storage, data processing, and data disposal practices. It should also analyze any third-party data-sharing agreements and tie-ups.
By following the above-mentioned methods you can move one step closer to ensuring complete Data Protection and security.
FAQs
What is data privacy?
‘Data Privacy’ pertains to the rights of the data subject (Individual) by which they can control the way their data is collected, stored, processed, and disposed of.
What is data protection?
‘Data Protection’ refers to the steps taken by organizations to ensure that sensitive data is protected against cyber threats, human errors, and mishaps.
Why is data privacy important?
Data Privacy helps protect sensitive information from being exploited. It helps data subjects make informed choices helping them decide where, when, and how their data is processed.
Why is data protection important?
Data Protection safeguards sensitive data against prevalent cyber threats and any unauthorized access. It reduces the risk of data breaches, data leakage, fraud, and identity theft. Furthermore, it helps maintain the reputation and trustworthiness of the organization.
How to safeguard data and maintain Data Privacy?
You can safeguard your data and maintain data privacy by implementing strong data access control protocols, regularly updating your software and hardware, encrypting your data, having a comprehensive data disposal policy, training your employee, and doing regular data privacy audits.
