Data Privacy Etiquette: 4 Basic Practices To Help Protect Company Data

Proper data privacy habits are essential in any organization. It’s not just about data security; it’s about entrusting employees to keep data private too. They don’t have to be from the IT department to be aware of it because it’s an issue that’s relevant organization-wide. 

Company data is centralized reliable hard drive software. Thanks to technology, automation in data privacy have never been this easy. But this isn’t the only place where data is available. Data is available on the desks of an employee or their open desktop screen.

These practices can be done by, if not all, majority of employees. Aside from providing written guidelines, it’s important to reinforce these basic practices too.

Prevent Information Leakage

Investing in talents and software for data security is a must in any organization. Data encryption, backing up data, and other system maintenance practices are important, but other employees outside the IT should also do their part to protect data.

Data security is different from data privacy. The former is usually prioritized by a specific team in the IT department, but data privacy should be an organization-wide action. Everybody can do their own part, no matter how small, to protect data. An example of information that should be protected is the organization’s trade secrets. This type of information is pivotal to your business. Carelessness might leave you vulnerable to your competitors.

Another example of information worth protecting is your employees’. It’s important to protect their personal data and apply the same measures too.

Certain People for Certain Information

In the organizational structure, the higher a person’s position, the more they know. This isn’t about exclusivity. It’s just natural. You can’t expect an HR recruiter not to know personal information about new employees or managers don’t know each of their team members’ appraisal scores. These data are restricted to employees from different hierarchies and different departments. Employees should do their best to uphold confidentiality with the information made available to them because of their jobs.

There are some instances wherein different groups have to work together. For example, the marketing team and research team must work together on a project about brand awareness. Different groups have different specializations, so working together is a holistic move. Additionally, it should be reinforced that in these instances, employees should practice discretion.

Hold Continuous Training and Advisories

Everybody knows what the right thing to do is. But a fatal flaw human beings have, in the name of data protection, is complacency. We sometimes get lazy or let our guard down, especially when we become comfortable. Constant education and reminding will help keep everyone vigilant.

It’s good practice to emphasize this as early as the onboarding period. New hires will be aware of its importance from day one.

Implement Robust Policies

This is probably the most basic of the basics. Policies serve as a guide for employees on how to act. This helps employees keep themselves accountable for their actions. Going against or violating any of these policies means sanctions take place.

Fostering a strong foundation in data privacy practices helps the organization become flexible in the face of change. When the pandemic hit and people were encouraged to work from home, it was an adjustment many businesses had to make. Many adjustments were made, and data security was not an exception. But with data privacy practices instilled in employees, they can adapt effectively.

In sudden changes like what happened during the pandemic, it’s best to remind everyone to keep at it. This is also a good time to refresh employees and adjust policies according to what is needed in the situation.

Conclusion

In this day and age, we are constantly blasted with information. So much so that we fail to prioritize what is worth sharing and what is not. We carry around information that may reveal the vulnerabilities in the system or compromise something that shouldn’t be. But when it comes to data protection, it should be a system and human effort to safeguard.

Data security should come hand-in-hand with data privacy. For things to work, both cannot be without the other. If there’s one thing software and AIs don’t have, though, it’s human discretion. Data protection can become an organization-wide effort as long as the basic foundations are fostered and practiced by employees. Data protection benefits everyone, so it’s important to invest in people and not just software.

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