In today’s age and time, data is worth keeping and protecting. Read on to know more about Data Privacy.

Millions of people around the globe often have their financial and personal information stolen, lost, or sold as a result of intentional or unintentional data breaches and cyber-attacks. Data Privacy and security are key parts of data protection. Data security should always be at the forefront of our minds when handling sensitive information. Ever wonder why keeping data safe is so important? Let’s start with the basics.

What is Data Privacy?

Alongside technological advancements, Cybercrimes have escalated dramatically. Sharing and collecting data online has become a norm in this digital age. Securing this information should be the intention of every individual and organization.
Data Privacy focuses on the protection of sensitive business data and PII of customers, vendors, business partners, and employees from unauthorized access, disclosure, modification, and deletion.

What is PII?

Personally Identifiable Information (PII), is information that can be used on its own or in combination to identify, contact or locate a single person or to identify an individual context.

The name of a person, photographic image, residential address, date of birth (DOB), health details, phone number, identification information and card details are all considered personal information. Protecting customer data is as critical as protecting personal information.

Did you know that data breaches in 2021 increased by 10% compared to that of the previous year?

Data in general is important. Be it business or personal, cybercriminals go to great lengths to gain the information they could misuse. Malicious actors can use this data to launch phishing attacks, malicious apps, malware infections, and so on. Keeping data safe should be one’s priority as it is indeed a basic right of an individual. Here are some ways that could help you start your journey in protecting information and staying away from privacy breaches:

Do’s

• Report actual or suspected violations of confidentiality or privacy.
• Keep your files away from family and friends.
• Keep your browsers and other office devices up-to-date.
• Always use a safe search engine.
• Choose a strong password and enable two-factor authentication.

Don’ts

• Do not share passwords with others. 
• Never download files or click links in untrusted emails.  
• Do not leave your email logged in when not in use.
• Do not publish personal information about individuals without their permission.
• Do not use business emails to log into media sites.

In today’s age and time, data is worth keeping and protecting. A number of intrusive methods have been developed to collect and process personal information as a result of technology. Being more vigilant while sharing data can be something a user can begin doing at a base level. Since the current pandemic, employees and individuals have been sharing data online more frequently. Think twice before sharing any type of information. Personal data can be used for both legitimate and inappropriate purposes. Any leak of this personal or sensitive information can harm a person or company’s reputation.

Always remember, with cyber attacks on the rise, staying vigilant is the key.