Data Privacy: What You Need to Know and How to Get Started
Aug 8, 2019
Data privacy governs how organizations collect, store, and use personal information such as PII, PHI, and financial records, while data protection enforces the security controls that safeguard it. Global regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, and CCPA demand compliance, making privacy both a legal and business imperative. Effective data privacy starts with data discovery and classification, least privilege enforcement, strong access controls, retention policies, and ongoing user training.
Data privacy is a huge public concern of the digital age, in part because data breaches continue exposing the personal data of millions of people. Even a single breach can have serious impacts: Individuals can suffer identity theft or blackmail, while companies risk financial costs along with damage to public, investor and customer trust.
Balancing the need to use personal data for business purposes against an individual’s right to data privacy is a challenge. This article explores the importance of data privacy, how it is related to data protection, which compliance regulations are focused on data privacy protection and what you should consider when adopting a data privacy policy.
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What is data privacy, and which data is involved?
Data privacy, or information privacy, means handling all data related to a person’s identity with respect for confidentiality and anonymity.
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About the author
Dirk Schrader
VP of Security Research
Dirk Schrader is a Resident CISO (EMEA) and VP of Security Research at Netwrix. A 25-year veteran in IT security with certifications as CISSP (ISC²) and CISM (ISACA), he works to advance cyber resilience as a modern approach to tackling cyber threats. Dirk has worked on cybersecurity projects around the globe, starting in technical and support roles at the beginning of his career and then moving into sales, marketing and product management positions at both large multinational corporations and small startups. He has published numerous articles about the need to address change and vulnerability management to achieve cyber resilience.