We live in a time where it’s hard to go for more than several days without reading about data breaches or hacks that expose millions and billions of personal records to hackers. As a result, people are looking for ways to keep their information safe online.
It’s vital to understand how to protect the personal data that you input into your online business to comply with your legal obligations and protect consumers’ privacy. Here are a few guidelines to assist.
1. Identify Personal Data
Personal data, as defined in laws protecting data, is any information that identifies an individual or can be used to identify an individual. In the digital world, that can include various things ranging from names and email addresses to biometric information. Many types of information, which could be considered personal, can be excluded in the event that certain conditions are satisfied. For example, if an organisation collects various types of information about individuals and asks them to identify their profession, that’s likely not personal data as it can’t be used to identify an individual person.
Many organisations are required by law to limit the amount of personal information that they collect. This is usually an advantage, as it decreases the chance of the possibility of a data breach. In addition, most privacy laws require a higher level of security for sensitive personal information than standard personal data. That’s because it can have more damaging or detrimental effects on the data subject should a breach occur.