Why Being Just Data Compliant Isn’t Enough

Imagine entering an amusement park that had a fire incident almost a month ago. But since then, the fire department has vetted the amusement park as “safe”. This is also the eighth fire incident in the past year, but there’s nothing to worry about as they are legally compliant with fire standards.

The above example is an over-exaggeration without a doubt. But what does the thought of visiting a “legally compliant” amusement park with eight recent fire incidents feel like?

This is probably how customers feel when using your product that’s just legally data compliant. Data isn’t comparably combustible, of course, but if fallen into the wrong hands, it can be devastating. And if compliance is the only term you associate with data privacy, you lose in the long run.

Maintaining data compliance and going beyond is the real struggle

When the internet started, there wasn’t much thought given to data privacy. As a result, most products and services don’t uphold privacy by design. In other words, in most cases, data privacy is an afterthought.

Of course, being compliant with data privacy standards and regulations can help organizations ensure the integrity and confidentiality of customer information and other relevant data are protected. Data compliance also prevents unauthorized access to critical information. But it should only be the beginning of your data privacy and security journey.

Jen Amaral, Info Security Analyst at G2, says:

“Meeting compliance obligations is one thing, but maintaining compliance is a whole new battle. As privacy professionals, we can’t monitor everything all the time, which is why it’s so important to work with your PII-handling coworkers to make sure that they’re confident in making privacy-preserving choices. I think most companies care about building trust with their customers and users, and, in my experience, when an organization understands that strong privacy practices help build consumer trust, maintaining a solid level of compliance becomes much easier.”

Building and maintaining a robust data privacy program can be a market differentiator, ultimately driving more business. The following image shows mentions of privacy in G2 reviews and how it positively impacts a user’s purchasing experience.

Approaching data privacy beyond the scope of just compliance

A proactive privacy approach can solve most data security issues of an organization--although it’s easier said than done. The following are some of the ways organizations can approach data privacy beyond the scope of data compliance.

Incorporate privacy into company values

Incorporating privacy into company values will help maintain it on top of every employee’s mind and be reflected in everything they do. This will, down the line, program employees to think about their values rather than whether something is legal.

Simplify documented policies and procedures

Overcomplicating documented policies and procedures will make it hard to follow them. Make it easy so that the newly onboarded employees can follow.

Revisit your security awareness training program

Make security awareness training fun, frequent, and incentivized. This will empower employees to learn and apply security best practices to daily tasks.

Integrate privacy by design in product development

With such an approach, privacy becomes integral to organizational priorities and will be embedded into every process.

Perform vendor security assessments

Performing regular vendor security assessments will allow you to identify the risks of using a third-party vendor’s product or service. This can further help secure customer data and maintain reputation.

Invest more in physical security

Strengthening physical security not only protects people, property, and physical assets but also makes it harder for malicious actors to access and share critical customer data.

How G2 can enhance your data privacy management efforts

On G2.com, you can browse and compare different data privacy and security products based on your needs, preferences, business size, and more. The following are some of the data privacy tools that can help you effortlessly manage your data privacy efforts:

• Data privacy management software: Businesses use this solution to map, discover, and classify sensitive data and handle data subject requests.
• Consent management platforms: Companies use this software to legally document and manage a user’s consent choices.
• Sensitive data discovery software: Businesses use this tool to locate sensitive data.
• Privacy policy generator software: Companies use this software to generate privacy policies.
• Data breach notification software: Businesses use this solution to document breaches, report to supervisory authorities, and notify impacted individuals.
• Security awareness training software: Companies use this tool to train employees and assess their security readiness.
  

Being proactive with data privacy

Data privacy should be an organization’s default posture before creating or selling products. This proactive approach will influence every employee to make privacy-preserving decisions.

Having a privacy-first approach will also attract better talent. Just like customers want to do business with companies that respect their privacy, people like to work for and be associated with organizations that treat data privacy and security as a top priority.

Edited by Shanti S Nair