We live in a technology dependent world where we are privileged to have instant communication and access to information readily available. However, these accessibility and also makes us vulnerable to personal data exploitation.
Defining Personal Data Protection
Personal data protection aims to safeguard sensitive information from unauthorized access. Personal data includes: email addresses, biometric data, social security numbers, IP addresses, etc. It refers to how companies safely collect, process, and store customer data. These practices and procedures often require compliance with data protection laws like the Personal Data Protection Policy.
For consumers, personal data protection means exercising caution when sharing personal information online and understanding privacy settings on platforms like social media.
The Types of Data Protection
Businesses with personal data must implement measures focusing on these three key areas:
- Physical security controls and restricts physical access to devices and storage systems that contain personal data. Examples include: employing surveillance systems, and implementing access control mechanisms, such as biometric scanners or card readers.
- Technical security are technology-based measures that protect personal data from phishing emails, malware attacks, and cyber threats. For example, firewalls, defend as frontline defenses against malicious software and unauthorized network access.
- Administrative security establishes policies, procedures, and employee training programs to ensure responsible data handling. Organizations can provide password management training or implement strict protocols for handling customer credit card data or additional information.
Each type of data protection, physical security, technical security, and administrative security relies on specific technologies and software to achieve its objectives.
Seven Data Protection Technologies
Implementing these steps (at minimum) will assist in upholding your organization’s commitment to data security.
- Firewalls monitor incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predefined security rules. Install them to create a protective barrier between your network and the internet. Doing so filters out malicious traffic and unauthorized access attempts.
- Data authentication verify the identity of users or systems attempting to access data or services. Common authentication employ include strong passwords, multifactor authentication (MFA), biometric scans, and behavioral scans.
- Data encryption ensure confidentiality during data transmission and storage by making data unreadable without the decryption key. Asymmetric encryption uses a pair of public and private keys. Symmetric encryption uses a single shared key for both encryption and decryption.
- Data masking this technique conceals or anonymizes sensitive information within a dataset while keeping it usable for legitimate purposes. In healthcare, for instance, you can pseudonymize patient identifiers by replacing them with unique codes.
- Data backups regularly backup data to secure locations to mitigate the impact of data breaches or system failures. Professional data backup services can be handy for increased reliability.
- Data loss prevention (DLP) employ DLP solutions for personal data protection and monitoring. DLP tools help enforce data security policies and detect suspicious activities.
- Data erasure implement secure data erasure methods, such as data wiping and physical destruction. These methods ensure that data is permanently removed from storage devices. Thereby, reducing the risk of identity theft or unauthorized transfer of personal data.
Protecting personal data is easier and less burdensome with the right technology and with cybersecurity experts in your corner. For comprehensive data backup services, learn here how 4BIS can help.
