How Businesses Can Ensure the Data Privacy of Their Customers

Last week’s Data Privacy Day on January 28^th highlighted some important data privacy issues for individuals and business owners in 2021. With countless people across the globe working from home this past year, many students pivoting to virtual learning, and the exponential growth in ecommerce, the need for safeguarding exposed data is paramount.

As the amount of data that people share and businesses collect continue to grow, companies have an ever-increasing responsibility to protect and respect the privacy of their customers. So how can businesses ensure the data privacy of their customers? Here are a few of the best practices every company should employ:

Build Trust Through Transparency

A recent study found that 79% of Americans report being concerned about the way their data is being used by companies. In order to gain the trust of your customers, be transparent about your data collection policy. Keep your clients confident about doing business with you by letting them know how you’re using and protecting their data. Display your privacy policy on your website and whenever possible, give people the option to opt out of data collection completely. According to the National Cybersecurity Alliance, “Millions of people are unaware of and uninformed about how their personal information is being used, collected or shared in our digital society.”

Only Collect Necessary Data

There’s no reason to collect and keep data that you don’t need. If you can make do with collecting less invasive information like a username and password as opposed to a phone number, mailing address, credit card number, or social security number, stick with the safer data options to minimize potential risks. The more data that you collect, the bigger the problem will be for both you and your customers in the event of a data breach.

Ongoing Cybersecurity Monitoring

Stay ahead of potential cyberattacks by continually monitoring and testing your network. This will allow you to identify and prevent possible data breaches or security threats. You may want to consider working with an IT company who has the tools to monitor your network 24/7 and detect suspicious activity before it becomes a major attack.

Update Your Software

Hackers are constantly changing their tactics and finding new ways to carry out cyberattacks. And with technology continuously evolving, you need to make sure your company is always running the latest version of antivirus and cybersecurity software. Although it is a pain to have to install the latest version of a software update on your computer or mobile device, the repercussions of a data breach would cause a much greater inconvenience.

Last week’s Data Privacy Day served as an important reminder to encourage companies to be more focused on protecting customer data in 2021. By employing the techniques mentioned above, you can help prevent potential data breaches and protect the privacy of your customers.