Best Practices for Maintaining the Privacy of Your Clients' and Your Company's Data
Today, if a company does not have targeted actions for data privacy, it faces serious risks of breaches, data exposure, cyberattacks, lawsuits, and even fines for non-compliance with the law.
Since 2020, when the LGPD (General Data Protection Law) came into effect, ensuring data security and privacy has shifted from being a market advantage to a mandatory requirement for all companies that collect third-party data.
Although the law has only been in effect for three years, most companies are already compliant with the LGPD. According to the 2nd National BugHunt Information Security Survey, 79% are in compliance with this law – showing a 15% increase since the first edition of the survey.
In a scenario of rising cyberattack numbers, having a solid data privacy policy is crucial for maintaining good customer relationships, a strong market reputation, preventing cyberattacks, and avoiding legal issues.
In this article, you will understand what data privacy is, the relationship between privacy and protection, and the 10 best practices for maintaining the privacy of your clients' and your company's data. Happy reading!
What is Data Privacy?
Data privacy is the fundamental right of individuals to control their personal information both online and offline. It involves protecting the integrity and confidentiality of information, ensuring that data is handled ethically and in compliance with current laws and regulations.
In an increasingly digital world, data privacy is a critical aspect of cybersecurity and personal information protection, encompassing issues such as consent, transparency in data collection practices, minimizing data collection, data storage and processing security, the right to access and correct information, and the right to delete or remove data when no longer needed.
What is the Relationship Between Data Privacy and Data Protection?
Data privacy and data protection are related terms but distinct and complementary. Data privacy refers to individuals' fundamental right to control their personal information.
Data protection, on the other hand, involves the set of measures and security practices implemented to ensure the safety of personal information collected and processed by an organization.
In other words, data privacy concerns individuals' rights over their personal information, while data protection focuses on the measures organizations take to ensure that this information is secure and handled with care and responsibility.
Best Practices for Maintaining Data Privacy
To keep your clients' and company's data private, it is essential to adopt good security and compliance practices. Here are the top 5 best practices for keeping your clients' and your company's data safe:
1. Updated and Transparent Data Privacy PolicyDevelop a clear, comprehensive, and accessible data privacy policy that explains all stages of data handling, including how data is collected, used, stored, and protected.Ensure it is available for consultation when the data subject desires, always obtain consent from new clients or employees for processing their data, and update it as necessary.
2. Investments in Information SecurityInformation security should be present in all company processes, from communications to operations. Security measures are responsible for keeping data truly protected.Seek solutions that meet your business's actual needs and keep your systems secure against potential threats.If you need help understanding the best cybersecurity investment for your business, click this link to download the Smart Cybersecurity Investment Guide and get a complete step-by-step on how to choose the best solution for your company.
3. Strengthened Security CultureOne of the most important practices for maintaining data privacy in companies is having a strong security culture, with a team aware of data protection and prepared to act correctly in the digital environment.Invest in workshops and training that teach good digital behavior practices and emphasize the importance of data privacy in all company operations. Additionally, promote practical actions and encourage individual responsibility in protecting information.
4. Mapping Your Company's Data ProcessingFirst and foremost, it is crucial to thoroughly understand all stages of your company's data processing and identify areas for improvement.Conduct a complete mapping of the systems you use, the types of data collected, ensure you have consent from all data subjects, and verify if all collected data is truly necessary for operations.Understanding how data processing works in your company is essential. Only with this mapping can you develop a reliable and accurate policy and invest in data protection actions.
5. Identify and Correct Vulnerabilities in Your SystemsAnother essential practice for ensuring the privacy of your clients' and your company's data is having more secure systems. This is only possible when you can identify and correct the right vulnerabilities.
Strong systems are the best way to fix issues that could lead to cyberattacks, theft, data leakage, and exposure.
The Bug Bounty is an economical and optimized way to identify vulnerabilities. It functions as a bug reward program that brings together a base of thousands of information security experts with diverse skills working towards a single goal: finding vulnerabilities in systems and products.
This approach provides a clearer view of your system's critical vulnerabilities and helps prioritize based on active and constant analysis of your systems.
Want to learn more about Bug Bounty? Contact BugHunt!