Data Privacy Week: How To Increase Trust With Better Data Management

Data Privacy Week takes place between January 24 and 28 this year and is a reminder for companies everywhere to contemplate how data privacy and cybersecurity are directly related, and how they improve their posture on both. At a time when companies are collecting an unprecedented amount of data, consumers are becoming increasingly anxious about how that data is used and shared.
In fact, despite the fact that massive data breaches and companies’ privacy practices have become fixtures in the headlines, the vast majority of people still have no idea how their sensitive personal information is collected, used, and shared.
In the spirit of data privacy, we’ve put together a few best practices that can help companies develop more coherent, comprehensive, and secure data management platforms that will earn the trust of their customers. 

Focus on transparency. Consumers can’t trust your company to manage their data responsibly if they don’t know what your privacy and security policies are. Consumers need to know how and why you’re collecting and storing their data, whether you’re sharing it with third parties, and what rights they have. Companies need to publish those policies online.

Have an emergency plan in place. Even when companies are responsible stewards of their customers’ data, they’ll never completely eliminate the possibility of a cyberattack. It takes an average of 287 days to identify and contain a breach — a glum reminder that companies need to have a plan to mitigate the consequences when breaches occur.

Ensure alignment across departments and teams. Just as your privacy and security policies should be accessible by consumers, internal policies and procedures must be available to your employees. This means familiarizing them with cybersecurity best practices, establishing clear channels of communication (to report potential breaches, for instance), and consistently assessing their knowledge of cyberthreats and countermeasures. 

At a time when companies are increasingly reliant upon consumers’ personal data, they have a responsibility to keep that data secure. By observing Data Privacy Week, companies can put a much-needed focus on how they can meet that responsibility and build trust with their customers.