Data Privacy/Protection Day

Unfortunately, this isn’t a holiday that involves cake, streamers, or gifts. Rather the day is to remind individuals and organizations to promote data protection best practices.

For businesses, a great way to mark the day is a quick review of your data sharing practices. While your employees might be trained, a recent survey sponsored by Biscom showed that 75% of trained employees still shared confidential company information and PII (personally identifiable information) via insecure email. Do your own audit to look at internal practices and solicit feedback on the available secure messaging tools in place. We found that most employees were circumventing processes because the tools were cumbersome or took to long to use. Look at how you can integrate secure sharing practices into current processes, like email integrations or email-link tools.

For consumers, don’t be afraid to ask how your PII or PHI (protected health information) is being protected by organizations you do business with, including accountants, lawyers, doctors, hospitals, and schools. While email is a convenient way to share information, if you’re receiving healthcare information from your doctor or sharing tax details with your accountant via email, it’s an unsafe practice. Know your rights and do your research. There are plenty of tools available to professionals that are easy-to-use for you and them, tools that allow large file sharing (like sending medical test results) or allow you to securely send information without having to buy a tool yourself via a secure respond function.

While a lot has been written about the broader ramifications of data privacy and potential legal protections, the first step has to be a corporate and personal diligence around data privacy and protection.