Tuesday 28th January 2020 was “Data Privacy Day 2020”
Some may refer to this as Data Protection Day, but it is really just a day to draw attention to privacy issues that exist around the use of digital data.
You can read more about this day here and here.
Ironically, on that day, I just happened to be investigating some privacy / security issues and I was reminded that some companies, individuals and even industry sectors that should be blatantly aware of the issues surrounding data privacy are either
- Ignore of these issues
- Playing ignorant
- Thinking ‘it’ll never happen to me’
- Not caring
- putting profits above the protection of their clients.
- All (or some of the above)
And there’s probably many more reasons that people are employing less than desirable practices to look after their data.
If you need more evidence you only have to look at the list of big global companies that have suffered data breaches of some kind in the last few years.
The damage caused by a data breach can be irreparable. Law suits may follow, reputations may be damaged, goodwill may be lost and that’ll soon be reflected in financial figures.
There are plenty of simple things that people can do to help keep their company’s (and their own) data safe. I’ll go into more details on these in later posts but initially I just wanted to start by saying (or rather reiterating) that security is everybody’s job.
Just because the word security is not in your job title does not mean you can get away with complacency.
If you see an issue – speak up. If you could suggest an improvement then speak up too. I get that there may be cultural barriers in some workplaces around these sort of things but good employers will remove these barriers and allow a physiologically safe workplace.
This is an amazingly cost effective way to help secure your environment.
A lack of data protection is not only causing embarrassment to the IT industry as whole but is costing individuals – who have trusted banks and other large institutions with their data – both time and money.
Nowadays, it is easy for a person to switch banks, insurance companies, airlines, phone / internet / TV provides or any other service provider really easily and that may have consequences for your employment.
So, whatever industry you are in I’d encourage you to play your own part – however small – in helping your company keep the data of their customers safe and secure.
Have a great day.
Cheers
Marty