On Data Privacy Day, Organizations Fail Data Privacy Expectations

There
are
continued
breaches
of
data
privacy,
and
according
to
Omdia’s
Security
Breaches
Tracker,
approximately
two-thirds
of
security
breaches
involve
data
exposure,
many
of
these
of
personall

On Data Privacy Day, Organizations Fail Data Privacy Expectations

There
are
continued
breaches
of
data
privacy,
and
according
to
Omdia’s
Security
Breaches
Tracker,
approximately
two-thirds
of
security
breaches
involve
data
exposure,
many
of
these
of
personally
identifiable
information
(PII).
Data
Privacy
Day
serves
to
highlight
the
inadequacies
of
data
protection
and
to
support
the
confidentiality
of
information.

Omdia’s

Cybersecurity
Decision
Maker
survey
,
conducted
in
the
second
quarter
of
2022,
found
that
32%
of
organizations
are
“extremely
confident”
in
their
organization’s
security
controls,
and
a
further
58%
describe
themselves
as
“reasonably
confident.”
However,
this
confidence
is
likely
misplaced.
The
same
survey
found
that
77%
of
organizations
have
suffered
numerous
security
incidents
and
breaches,
some
with
a
severe
impact
on
the
organization.
Realistically,
strong
security
controls
should
be
preventing
some
of
these
incidents
and
breaches.

Some
of
these
security
breaches
are
included
in
Omdia’s

Security
Breaches
Tracker
.
This
data
looks
at
the
leading
outcome
of
security
breaches,
and
in
the
breaches
reported
during
the
first
nine
months
of
2022,
for
66%
of
breaches
tracked
this
was
data
exposure.
Looking
back
at
the
historical
data
to
2019,
we
see
that
approximately
two-thirds
of
breaches
have
consistently
resulted
in
data
exposure:
68%
in
2021,
67%
in
2020,
and
64%
in
2019.
Thus,
it
is
not
a
stretch
to
say
that
organizations
will
continue
to
fail
customers’
data
privacy
expectations.

Not
a
One-and-Done
Task

Better
cyber
hygiene
would
result
in
few
breaches
of
data
privacy;
however,
cyber
hygiene
is
not
a
one-and-done
task.
Cyber
hygiene
can
be
defined
as
the
good
practice
that
all
organizations
can
follow
to
minimize
the
opportunity
for
cybersecurity
incidents
to
materialize.
Examples
include
timely
patching,
password
management,
backups,
and

much
more
.

Cyber
hygiene
requires
constant
review
and
updating,
because
malicious
actors
are
also
constantly
reviewing
and
updating
their
offensive
capabilities.
Attacks
range
from
ransomware-as-a-service
(RaaS)
to
highly
sophisticated
nation-state
and
organized
criminal
group
attacks

a
significant
threat
landscape.

Other
factors
challenging
good
cyber
hygiene
include:
the
omnipresent
security
workforce
shortage,
that
organizational
data
is
frequently
spread
far
and
wide
with
no
proper
handle
on
all
the
locations,
gray
areas
of
responsibility
when
it
comes
to
actions
such
as
patching,
the
complexity
of
cybersecurity,
and
more.

Failures
in
cyber
hygiene
can
lead
to
opportunities
for
breaches
of
data
privacy.
Not
only
does
this
erode
customer
trust
in
the
organization,
it
also
opens
the
organization
to
potential
regulatory
breaches
and
fines.

Data
privacy
legislation
has
been
enacted
around
the
world,
and
there
are
plenty
of
examples
of
breaches
of
data
privacy
legislation.
A
significant
fine
of
€390
million
was
issued
to
Meta
(which
owns
Facebook)
for
breaking
EU
data
laws
on
using
personal
data
to
deliver
targeted
advertisements.
The
ruling
rejected
Meta’s
argument
that
when
people
engage
with
social
media
platforms,
such
as
accepting
terms
and
conditions,
they
are
actually
agreeing
to
receive
personalized
ads.
The
ruling
was
made
this
month
(January
2023),
and
Meta
plans
to
appeal
the
decision.

Some
consumers
are
becoming
more
savvy
about
their
data
and
how
it
should
be
kept
private.
However,
apathy
and
lack
of
knowledge
are
also
evident
among
customers
when
it
comes
to
data
privacy:
Many
are
not
always
aware
of
what
they
are
signing
up
for
or
don’t
care
about
what
they
are
signing
for
because
they
get
something
for
free.

In
many
parts
of
the
world,
if
a
company
discovers
a
breach
of
data
privacy
regulations,
it
must
inform
its
customers
and
support
them.
There
are,
however,
many
organizations
that
take
their
time
to
report
breaches,
and
especially
if
they
have
not
created
a
playbook
for
such
a
situation,
they
may
struggle
to
follow
the
right
and
appropriate
rules,
handle
any
press
inquiries,
deal
with
ransomware
demands,
and
so
on.

Take
It
Personally

It
is
incumbent
upon
those
responsible
for
data
privacy
at
an
organization
to
look
after
their
customers’
data
in
the
same
way
that
they
would
expect
other
organizations
to
look
after
personal
data
about
them.
There
is
no
doubt
that
maintaining
data
privacy
is
a
challenge,
but
it
must
be
tackled
head
on
as
a
component
of
winning
and
maintaining
customer
trust.
Data
Privacy
Day
serves
to
remind
everyone
that
data
is
precious
and
must
be
looked
after.

In
no
small
part,
data
security
focuses
on
maintaining
data
privacy.
Data
security
is
essential
to
the
fundamental
ideas
of
information
ownership,
which
are
dependent
on
a
comprehensive
strategy
and
are
made
up
of
three
primary
elements.

The
first
of
these
elements
is
data
discovery,
needed
to
successfully
locate
information
assets
that
may
require
protection.
The
second
element
is
data
governance,
necessary
to
ensure
that
data
is
managed
properly
while
internal
policies
are
adhered
to
and
external
compliance
requirements
are
met.
Finally,
data
protection
is
essential
to
prevent
information
from
being
accessed
or
potentially
compromised
by
unauthorized
parties.

Ultimately,
organizations
must
focus
on
data
security
to
have
a
hope
of
maintaining
the
confidentiality
of
the
information
they
are
responsible
for,
thus
adhering
to
data
privacy
regulations
and
expectations.

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