Everything You Should Know About Data Privacy Week 2022

Data Privacy Week is an annual global initiative that raises awareness about the significance of privacy, emphasizes simple measures to secure personal information, and reminds enterprises that privacy is good for business.

This blog will take you back to the history of Data Privacy Week and its significance. We’ll also learn about the key issues and set the Data Privacy Week 2022 themes. Finally, the blog will recommend some of the best data privacy practices that users can implement this year. So, without further ado, let’s get started.

Warming Up: What is Data Privacy?

Data privacy refers to a person’s ability to regulate when, how, and to what extent personal data about them is shared with or disclosed to others in general. This personal data may include a person’s name, address, phone number, and online and offline activities. Many online users want to control or prevent certain types of personal data collection, just as they might want to exclude people from a private conversation.

History Of Data Privacy Week

We give the credits to Europe whenever we talk about data privacy as they were the pioneers for protecting the automatic processing of customers’ data. The Council of Europe drafted “The Convention for the Protection of Individuals concerning Automatic Processing of Personal Data” in 1981.

This convention was the first international treaty dealing with data privacy and protection. The treaty protected users’ privacy rights while allowing for the ever-increasing digital flow of personal data across borders.

Data Privacy Day was established on April 26, 2006, to commemorate the signing of Convention 108, with observance set for January 28. In 2022, the annual holiday will become Data Privacy Week, a week-long campaign.

Importance Of Data Privacy Week

Users are educated about online privacy, recognizing when their personal information is used, and the best practices to prevent data breaches. The holiday also encourages businesses to stop misusing data and be transparent about collecting and using consumer data.

Think about the last time you filled out a contact form to then receive a spike in spam calls or went online shopping to find later your social media account engulfed with targeted ads. It sounds familiar, right? Every action you take online leaves a trail. It is all collected and shared without the user’s knowledge, whether it is an individual’s frequently visited websites, online activity, or personal information such as name, residence, identification numbers, etc.

As the digital hub expands and children are more exposed to internet culture than ever before, managing and protecting your personal information online is more important. Therefore, Data Privacy Week encourages everyone to be cautious about their privacy settings, passwords, and where they upload sensitive data.

What’s Trending for Data Privacy Week 2022?

Data is a valuable resource that almost every organization can access. For example, data is collected every time a user performs an online or offline activity. Therefore, Right-Hand Cybersecurity’s topics for Data Privacy Week 2022 include shedding light on the significant challenges that organizations and consumers face with data privacy:

1. On the internet, user behavior is monitored regularly. Cookies frequently record a user’s activities. While most countries require websites to notify users about cookie use, users may be unaware of the extent to which cookies are recording their activities.
2. Individuals may not know how websites/social networks/apps share their data beyond their boundaries. They may not control what happens to their data due to the widespread use of online services.
3. Users are frequently required to provide personal data such as their name, email, phone number, or location to use web applications; however, the privacy policies and terms and conditions associated with those applications can be complex and challenging to comprehend.
4. It’s easier than ever to track down someone on social media, and users’ posts may reveal more personal information than they realize. Furthermore, social media platforms frequently collect more data than users realize.
5. Many cyber criminals attempt to steal user data to commit fraud, compromise secure systems, or sell it to parties who use it for malicious purposes on underground markets. For example, some attackers use phishing attacks to trick users into disclosing personal information, while others attempt to hack into companies’ internal systems that contain personal information.

Best Practices To Adopt After Data Privacy Week 2022 and Beyond

Here are five data privacy best practices you can teach your employees during Data Privacy Week 2022 to help them keep sensitive information safe at all times. Each best practice promotes strong information security in their personal and professional lives.

1. Any information used alone or combined with other information to identify an individual is considered personal information—name, address, license number, nationality, IP address, fingerprints, etc. You should train your employees on how and where to share this information.
2. Educate and train your employees on how to spot and avoid phishing scams. Cybercriminals will use them to trick people into clicking on a suspect link or downloading a malicious file to steal their data, installing malware on their device, and more. Smishing and vishing are similar, so start with training and security awareness today.
3. While online shopping has become a part of many people’s lives, it is also a popular target for cybercriminals. As a result, when using an eCommerce site or a third-party transaction platform, it’s critical to take extra precautions to protect data.
4. Users should carefully observe, manage, and update their privacy settings. Additionally, before agreeing to application and email sign-ups, all should read the terms and conditions.
5. Using public Wi-Fi to shop online can be helpful for impulse and last-minute purchases. Even so, hackers can snoop on data transmitted across the network, putting user information at risk. That means users should never use a public Wi-Fi connection to send address or credit card information.

Final Words

High-profile data breaches have become more common as businesses collect more data on consumers than ever before. One data breach attempt can expose millions of users’ records, and we have examples of LinkedIn, Yahoo, Facebook, and whatnot. It costs millions of dollars and takes years to rectify the mistrust caused by just one data breach –  proving how valuable user data is.

Businesses and consumers are increasing their spending on data security and digital information protection. This Data Privacy Week gives, yet again, an opportunity to review your data privacy policies, stay compliant with GDPR, spread awareness, and train your employees to ensure data transparency, thus, striking a healthy data privacy balance. 

Also, check out the recording of our webinar with Zamaan Qureshi to learn what data Facebook tracks and stores about its users and how to improve your privacy on social networks. Follow our updates on LinkedIn, Twitter, and now on Instagram.