Understanding Data Privacy And Why It Needs To Be A Top Priority For Businesses

Introduction

• As a business or an agency, are you prioritizing the needs of your customer for data privacy?
• Do you know how you can convert data privacy as a USP of your business going forward?
• Have you tried using servers that are secure, boost privacy, and offer seamless safety, speed, and credibility?

In the last few years, data privacy has emerged as one of the most important aspects, which is driving digital. Businesses who are unable to address data privacy issues stand the risk of-

1. Losing credibility as an organization
2. Letting go of sales, revenues, and profits
3. Facing lawsuits from customers and authorities

While these may be the top three fallouts of not maintaining a strict data privacy rule, there can be many others, which can be added. In this article, we are going to look at various aspects concerning data privacy. We will also look at how to secure servers can be a major way, where you can breach data privacy issues successfully.

Data Privacy: Meaning and Definition

Data Privacy relates to personal or even public information, which a consumer might be sharing with a business in relation to the service. For example, if you are shopping from an Ecommerce platform, the company has access to the following kinds of data-

• Name
• Email ID
• Physical Address (Home + Office + others)
• Financial Details
• Government ID (in case of wallets)

In addition to the above, there can be information stored concerning your buying history, your interest areas, and your search trends. It is understood that all the above-mentioned information is critical and important. If it goes into some mischievous third party hands, it can lead to the consumer suffering on a massive scale.

Data Privacy is the process of protecting safeguarding and withholding the personal information of a consumer. While more and more businesses are now collecting data and information to help improve the user experience, consumers are now waking up to the downside of such activities.

This is why it is important for businesses to understand the nature of the issue at hand and take steps accordingly. Data Privacy concerns, security breaches, hacking incidents have become far more mainstream in recent years.

Read more: How to start An ecommerce Website

EU’s GPDR and California’s CCPA: What are they?

Businesses who want to understand standards, which they have to maintain, need to pay attention to the CCPA and the GPDR. CCPA stands for California Consumer Privacy Act and GPDR stands for General Data Protection Regulation.

The GPDR is the globally accepted and mandated data privacy protection standard, followed not only in EU countries but also all over the world. This mainly involves rules, laws, and regulations as to how businesses can store, process, and use consumer data.

If you have been following the news, you will know how European and American lawmakers have gone after billion-dollar corporations like Facebook, Google, and Amazon. The allegations under GPDR and CCPA range from using data to create a monopoly, to exploiting it to power third party businesses.

Facebook’s reputation was strongly questioned a couple of years back. It was strongly believed that the tech giant manipulated the 2015 American Presidential Elections. Businesses, both big and small need to be aware of both the CCPA as well the GPDR. This is if they hope to do business on digital platforms like search engines and social media.

Should only Big Businesses be concerned with Data Privacy?

One of the major misconceptions, businesses have when it comes to data privacy is applicability. Small businesses and companies feel that they should not adhere to data privacy as much as big businesses do.

However, in reality, it has been found that small companies need to pay as much attention to data privacy as their bigger counterparts. This is because-

• Hackers find the security systems in small companies easier to hack into as they have fewer security features
• Small companies cannot afford to have their names tarnished for it would mean closing shop
• In terms of fines and licenses, data privacy lawsuits can lead to major economic and financial losses for them

In essence, it is important that small companies also follow all the rules and regulations regarding data. This includes data privacy and data security concerns. Smaller companies tend to experience greater losses from data theft than big companies do.

In addition to protecting data of their consumers, companies should also focus on their own security. Hackers can also steal the data of the company, the financial records, and so on.

How can businesses ensure Data Privacy and Data Security?

One of the easiest ways to ensure data privacy and security is to get the right servers. Hosting servers are a major security loophole, which is exploited by hackers. An elementary mistake that most businesses do is go for shared servers.

This is something, which should never be done. It is always best to go for dedicated servers to protect privacy and security. A misconception, which many have, is that dedicated servers tend to be expensive. However, many hosting and server companies like king-servers offer great security server solutions at competitive prices.

You get complete DDoS attack protection, as well as various other firewalls, which aid in protection. This ensures that in addition to the consumer data, company data is protected as well.

Businesses should have a regular data privacy auditing process. This should be done every quarterly at best, and annually, at worst. In addition to this, the ethical basis of data privacy should be clear at all times. This ethical feeling should be shared right from the top management, down to the lowest team member in the hierarchy.

Conclusion

A business, which does not take data privacy seriously is going to wind up its operations, sooner rather than later. Governments are taking data privacy and security very seriously, and failure to comply with the same can lead to huge fines.

A strong data privacy regime can also be a great USP for a business. Consumers want to feel secure if they are dealing with a particular company. This can emerge as a very valid marketing vertical for businesses.

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