Data Privacy Day is an international holiday that occurs every January 28. The purpose of this day is to raise awareness and promote privacy and data protection best practices. It is currently observed in the United States, Canada, India, and 47 European countries.
Today we conduct much of our lives on the internet and on our connected devices, yet few people understand that an enormous amount of personal information is collected and shared. This data can be stored indefinitely, and our personal information can be used in both beneficial and unwelcome ways.
Data Privacy Day is an educational initiative focused on raising awareness among businesses and individuals about the importance of protecting the privacy of personal information. As more and more companies, websites, and social media apps collect personal information, it’s essential to consider how you can do your part to keep yourself safe.
To understand the importance of data privacy, it is vital to understand Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and exactly what privacy is. PII is any combination of data points that can lead to the identification of a specific individual. This can be things such as your name or email address, but most times PII refers to “sensitive PII” such as your social security number, driver’s license information, state identification information, or personal account numbers. Sensitive PII can also exist if PII is combined with another piece of information about you such as a birthdate, medical information (PHI), or even passwords. The more pieces of data combined about an individual, the more valuable and sensitive the body of information becomes.
Privacy Rights
To understand your privacy rights, it is essential that you read the privacy policies of any organization to whom you provide personal information. This includes websites, health care providers, insurance companies, and financial institutions. If you do not agree with how they intend to protect your privacy or use your data, consider not using their service.
Privacy Is a Shared Responsibility
While organizations and websites have a responsibility to protect your privacy, which most will outline in their privacy policy, your privacy is also your responsibility. Social media users are especially susceptible to privacy concerns. Individuals voluntarily place enormous amounts of information about themselves, their friends, and their associates on social media. It is critical that everyone is aware of the information they post on social media services such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter. This awareness is not limited to what you post about yourself, but what you post about others as well!
Identity Theft Protection
Unfortunately, recent breaches of PII by cyber criminals have resulted in the exposure of information about millions of people. As a result, sometimes companies or organizations offer credit monitoring for one year, but this is a very short time. Those who stole the information, or those to whom they passed it on, may hold it for much longer than a year before using it to steal your identity, commit credit card fraud, or something worse, in your name. If you suspect that you have been the victim of a breach, check out some of the FTC’s resources on starting a credit freeze to protect yourself.
If you are considering identity theft protection services, research the firms you are considering engaging with and ensure you understand the services they will and will not provide. Read their privacy policies, because for them to deliver these services you must provide them with varying amounts of PII.
Protecting privacy is both your responsibility and that of the individuals and organizations that have information about you. Do everything in your power to be aware of how you personally can compromise your privacy and hold organizations with which you engage accountable for their management, or mismanagement, of your personal information.
To read more about Data Privacy Day please click on the link below:
https://staysafeonline.org/data-privacy-day/
Resource links:
https://firstbusiness.com/blog/tips-national-data-privacy-day/