The Importance of Data Protection in 2021

Any information that you store digitally should be protected properly. Data privacy and protection are very crucial both for individuals and businesses. As a business owner, you have to ensure the data safety of every information you store on your servers. 

From personal and financial details to contact information for your vendors, customers, staff, and others, data protection is necessary for every business hoping to thrive in the corporate arena. Data protection is a legal necessity and crucial to protecting your business or yourself.

Data that Needs Protection

Vital pieces of information that you commonly store on your website, be it customer details, employee records data collection, or transactions, should be protected. Data protection prevents the information from fraudulent activities like identity theft, phishing, and hacking. 

Your business may store data like names, emails, addresses, health information, phone numbers, and credit card or bank details. Such data has sensitive information that can compromise involved parties’ security if it lands in unlawful hands. 

For example, if someone accesses your customer or staff’s banking details, they can use the information to hack into their accounts and steal their money. Also, third parties can use details like ID number or SSN to create fake profiles that they, in turn, use for fraud. 

You can use a VPN to enhance data protection. VPNs are great for personal and business use; hence, you can rely on them if you need to protect your data. What is a VPN and how can it help with data protection? Discover more below.

Laws Surrounding Data Protection

Most countries have laws regarding data protection in which all organizations are expected to observe high levels of data protection. Not abiding by these regulations can result in legal actions that can affect your business negatively. 

Organizations, businesses, and governments must adhere to data protection laws to keep someone’s sensitive information safe, accurate, and lawful. While data protection principles may vary from one country to another, the provisions are almost similar. 

The principles include only using data for the stated purposes, not storing the data longer than necessary, and using it appropriately. Businesses should not share their clients, workers, and vendors’ data, among others, with unauthorized parties. 

In fact, every organization or business should have clear data protection and privacy policy that explains how the data you share with them will be used. The policy should also explain instances where other parties can share your data, such as the authorities.

To Prevent Breaches that Affect Your Business

Data protection is vital for every business. Besides being a law requirement, businesses need to keep data safe to safeguard their customers, staff, and suppliers since failure to do this can cripple a business. 

Organizations must have strong security measures like robust firewalls and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) or Transport Layer Security (TLS) for data protection. When using VPNs, they need to ensure they are only using a credible provider. 

Businesses that implement these measures reduce the cases of security incidences resulting from data breaches. Fewer or no breaches ensure the business does not lose trust, resulting in customers’ loss or other key people like suppliers and workers. 

Also, it makes sure a business does not have to lose money and time dealing with fines or civil suits as an effect of data breaches. Being involved in law suits can be expensive to a business, and eventually it can result in its closure, especially for a start-up. 

To Limit Data Breaches Affecting Individuals

Protecting every person’s data involves promoting safety for personal data and every other activity associated with collecting, processing, storing, sharing, and disposing of this information. 

Historically, most organizations haven’t had strong and comprehensive data protection controls implemented in the entire enterprise. As a result, cases of data theft and hacking were high. Today, with technology development, organizations can securely store and transmit data. 

By implementing, up-to-date security controls for data protection, breaches that can negatively impact data subjects are avoided. Besides, most organizations eliminate their customers’ and workers’ data security, such as asking them not to share passwords or crucial information. 

To Maintain Brand Value

Data breaches can damage the reputation of your company and brand value. Businesses that explicitly take protecting their consumers, shareholders, and employees’ data as a primary goal easily build emotional brand connections. 

This results in customer loyalty since many people only want to deal with companies, they are assured will keep their data safe from fraudsters. Besides, with effective data protection, businesses can improve their brand value. 

Also, when companies observe data protection, it acts as a sign that they value their customers’ safety or any other people that might share their information with them. Besides, protecting people’s data is essential in promoting and maintaining public, customer, and investor trust.

Individuals who have experienced data breaches lose trust in the particular organization, and most of them look for alternative businesses. Hence, protecting people’s data is important in improving and maintaining brand value and loyalty. 

To Promote Ethics

Most businesses have developed business ethical policies or codes of ethics regarding data safety. Even the companies that have not done so yet need to follow ethical practices if they expect to stay in business for a longer time. 

Such ethical policies typically indicate that confidential information will be handled responsibly and not used in activities that may cause harm. Also, they ensure data is used as indicated and for the intended business purposes. 

Usually, companies are aware that they can use some of the data they have access to in ways that can benefit their business. However, they refrain from this as this would go against their organizational code of ethics. 

Majorly, even in the absence of data protection laws, most companies would still observe data safety for the sake of maintaining a reputable image. Certainly, creating a great brand image is essential for businesses looking to gain a competitive advantage. 

To Promote Physical Safety

Lack of data protection can result in grievous harm to the particular individual. For example, when a business doesn’t keep information like a person’s address secure and spies get hold of such data, they can easily find their victims. 

Several people have been reported to have been harmed or killed by spies who obtain their information from various websites. In 1989, for instance, Rebecca Schaeffer, was killed by a fan who obtained her home address from the California State Department of Transportation. 

Rebecca was a renowned actress on a popular Television Show ‘My Sister Sam.’ Based on this, therefore, data protection is important in hindering the occurrence of such scenarios.