We live in a world where it’s hard to go for more than an entire week without reading a story about data breaches or hacks that expose millions and millions of personal information to hackers. In the wake of this, people are looking for ways to keep their information secure online.
It’s crucial to know how to protect the personal data that goes into your digital business in order to meet your legal obligations and protect consumers’ privacy. Here are some guidelines to help you comply with this.
1. Identify Personal Data
According to data protection laws as personal data, it is information that identifies or can be used to identify an individual. In today’s digital age it could be anything from biometric data to email addresses. Many kinds of information, which are considered to be personal, can be removed when certain conditions are in place. For instance when an organization collects various kinds of data about individuals and they’re all asked to state their occupation, that’s likely not personal data since it can’t be used to identify an individual person.
Many organisations are legally required to limit the amount personal information that they collect. This is generally a positive thing, as it reduces the likelihood of a data breach. In addition, most lawful data protection regulations require the highest level of security for sensitive personal data than standard personal data. This is because it could have more harmful or damaging consequences for data subjects should a breach happen.