Each day, a great number of organizations manage extensive volumes of information from customers, business partners, vendors, employees, and others. As companies grow, the amount of data harvested grows exponentially and the management and control of information to create competitive advantages and make decisions becomes ever more critical. Handling such large amounts of data within internal business processes generates a substantial risk. Increasingly, companies’ data management policies are being scrutinized by regulators. Today, businesses face a great challenge on how to administer, manage, and share information through multiple communication channels that must be aligned with the needs and objectives of the business.
In the current world of smartphones, smart networks, and smart cars, businesses are compiling and exchanging more consumer information than ever. Although organizations use such information to innovation to offer improved products and services, consumer privacy must not be compromised. Businesses need to adopt a set of practices to protect consumer data. These Organizations must develop and maintain systems and processes that implement data security practices within their commercial framework. The investment is indispensable to reach security goals and avoid the risks and incidents that companies are vulnerable to. If companies do not have a strong infrastructure or do not have a clear idea of how to proceed after a data breach, the economic consequences can be high. Having a security plan involves more than just complying and involves an integrated vision that includes security protocols. Additionally, organizations need to create a culture conducive to privacy that involves employees.
The key to data security and the handling of privacy involves understanding the type of personal data that resides in systems. What the data is used for? Where does the data reside? The first step is to identify the various types of data: customer, business partner, stockholders and employee. This requires the participation of key users or employees that can identify the valuable uses of the stored information. Once users identify the type of data, they should map the flow of information and how it is being handled during its lifespan. The company needs to consider aspects like the origins of the data, the channels that it travels through, where the data is processed, internal and external access to it, and the types of uses, among others. The development of the data map and cycle allows organizations to identify possible risks and manage data more securely, protecting it from unauthorized access, improper uses, unauthorized sharing, and other breaches. Risk analysis provides businesses with the ability to identify and weigh the value of the data and develop a classification system that categorizes it based on the level impact and importance. This allows security experts within the organization to implement proper protection controls.
Once the organization implements and configures the data security platform, they must continue to develop customized access protocols as well as protocols that manage data transformation, administration, deletion, backup, and restoration. Finally, data administration experts need to monitor all platforms and activities to detect and anticipate problems. Developing these protocols and implementing practices may be difficult for businesses whose core competencies don’t revolve around technology or data security. Third-party providers, such as Liaison Technologies, can provide experts, policies, and practices that help companies stay ahead of data security and privacy compliance.
As organizational data continues to grow, privacy concerns of consumers will continue to be a central topic in all areas. Companies will feel regulatory pressure. The pressure placed on companies to secure and protect privacy will increase. Therefore, companies need to think proactively about data security and privacy. It is critical that they move toward implementing protocols that extend far beyond the legal requirements. If they fail to do so the legal ramifications, loss of reputation and in turn revenue could be nothing short of catastrophic.
