In the digital environment we live in today, cyber threats are constantly roaming for targets. Organizations must ensure their member’s and client’s sensitive data remains protected. Advanced security measures and tools are essential but not always enough. Data security – firewalls, antivirus software, and the like – must be utilized alongside data privacy.
Data privacy strategies are all about the methods, standards, and regulations involved in how data is collected and passed around a system. As a simple example, locking a computer when you walk away is data privacy, and advanced password management is security. Business solutions for data privacy can include many methods and strategies that we can help you find.
InnoTek Computer Consulting understands the importance of developing good habits around managing sensitive client data. Holding to regulations is important, but going above and beyond the basic expectations can provide peace of mind and confidence in your business. Contact us today to consult with our knowledgeable experts to better learn how the following solutions can be integrated into your business.
Data Encryption
Data encryption is a technical strategy that will help prevent access to sensitive information. Encryption essentially transforms information into a code that can only be understood with a key or password. This security strategy is a meeting of data privacy and data security – security to prevent outside attacks and privacy to ensure only the intended recipient will have access.
Encryption is a very common data protection measure that is taken to prevent security breaches. Data protection solutions often cover both security and privacy since both have the same end goal – to protect sensitive data. Encryption tools come in many forms and are often specific to how your sensitive data is transferred. Cloud encryption might look different from email encryption, but both are major solutions for data privacy. InnoTek’s experts can help you find the encryption tools that will best suit your needs.
Data Anonymization
For personal information, anonymization of data is a trusted method for preventing sensitive information from being tied back to specific individuals. Anonymizing data simply involves deleting any identifiable information while keeping the information that is relevant.
Scrubbing information such as phone numbers and email addresses can allow data to be kept for wider purposes without risking your subject’s privacy. Data used in marketing research and analysis is typically anonymized so that the people involved aren’t put at risk. This can be one of the simpler and more effective solutions for data privacy.
Many tools are used to anonymize data. Aggregation combines large pools of data to depersonalize it for analysis. Pseudonymization changes identifying information while retaining relevant data that has been collected. There are even tools that create synthetic data for analysis – data that looks real and is usable but has no connection to real individuals. This last example is a favorite of data analytics professionals.
Data Minimization
Perhaps the simplest data privacy method is minimization. This term means you don’t collect more data than is necessary. This strategy has many benefits for businesses and consumers alike. In the case of a data breach, hackers cannot steal data that you don’t collect in the first place. This is a solution for data privacy that comes with other benefits, as it also lowers the cost and complexity of your data storage and management systems.
However, many businesses need to collect a large amount of sensitive information by their nature. A medical practice can only reduce its data collection by so much before patient records are affected. However, a professional support team can help tailor and optimize your minimization strategies.
Data Access Control
Knowing who is allowed to access what sensitive data and at what time is a critical strategy in data privacy. Security breaches often occur when data changes hands. You probably have several security policies in place right now that involve protecting sensitive data. Some common questions looking for solutions for data privacy include:
- Who has access to client payment methods?
- When is a patient’s address or phone number withdrawn?
- Are employees able to access each other’s personal email addresses?
- When is data prepared for deletion or anonymization?
- Is the intellectual property being properly respected and acknowledged?
Data access control strategies are unique to each operation and require a thorough knowledge of your processes. This business data solution is often overlooked because it is simple and often baked into your daily tasks. Tools to aid in this solution can involve authorization tools, encryption, and access management software.
Cyber-attack prevention systems protect data from the outside, but data access controls prevent unauthorized access from the inside of a system. Data security solutions often support privacy by supporting your critical data from within and without.
Compliance and Regulation
Fundamentally, data privacy is guided by the laws and regulations that govern your data collection and processing. Compliance with these laws and regulations will look quite different depending on where you live and work, what your industry is, and the methods involved. If you have any concerns or questions about your data collection regulations, know that we have experience with businesses across many locations and industries.
Compliance requirements can be extremely specific in terms of how your security and privacy manage data. Regulations around medical records are the height of data security and privacy. However, the goal of all data management should be to protect sensitive data. Security awareness solutions should be a priority at all times.
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the rule of law in most of the EU and covers most aspects of consent and privacy when data is collected. In America, the most often discussed and used regulation is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA. Having confidence in what regulations cover your business requires knowledge of your jurisdiction and industry alike.
Data Privacy Fosters Trust and Growth
Your solutions for data privacy will develop during your business growth. As you collect more information and have more staff members, the vulnerabilities and potential for mistakes will also increase. Having well-established data privacy solutions and standards in place will keep your business future-proof and your data secure.
Here at InnoTek, we believe in empowering and educating your staff and business in order to involve you at every step of your organization’s cybersecurity development. We offer a team of experts that can continually update, guide, and support. Our experts continually educate themselves and others on the latest in data security, security awareness, and data privacy techniques.
If you have ever had concerns or anxieties about your compliance with data privacy, reach out to us. We will work with you to develop a cybersecurity plan that works for your needs throughout every step of your growth. When it comes to cybersecurity, knowledge is power, and we have knowledge to share.
