[cs_content][cs_section parallax=”false” style=”margin: 0px;padding: 45px 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][cs_text]We now have national cupcake day, national doodle day and world health day but did you know about data protection day?
We now have national cupcake day, national doodle day and world health day but did you know about data protection day? Most do not and most know very little about data protection itself which is proven by the rise in fines from the ICO. Since they were first introduced in 2010, the fine value has risen from £160,000 to £1,120,000 in 2013, showing that awareness to data protection is of paramount importance. The main purpose for data protection day is to promote that much needed awareness to businesses all over the UK and the rest of the world. This day is recognised on a global scale by a variety of countries to help make our data safer.
[/cs_text][x_custom_headline level=”h2″ looks_like=”h4″ accent=”false”]Why do we need a data protection[/x_custom_headline][cs_text]
With the ever increasing amount of personal data being stored online, there is now more concern than ever for our personal details. Whilst technological advancements such as social media, mobile phones and ecommerce are very much welcomed, they do higher the risk and threat level to our personal data. However, don’t be fooled into believing that data breaching i only caused by those who hack into businesses data. The ICO has reported that most data breaches occur as a result of human error or rather a failure to follow procedures.
Unfortunately businesses fail to understand or take seriously the storage and security of personal data. The ICO have reported that in 2013, 87% of businesses were unable to give a cost figure for their spend on data protection, most likely because it barely exists. It is widely hoped that data protection day or data privacy day as it is known in some countries, will help to teach businesses about the importance of data protection. If strict data processing procedures were followed by all businesses then the risk to a data breach would be significantly reduced.
Five key ways to increase data protection
There are many ways to increase the security of your businesses data without too much cost needing to be involved. Below are five great tips for helping you to increase security and protect your business from a fine or even prosecution:
1. Ensure that your business uses only secure networks at all times.
2. Encrypt all devices that contain sensitive information so that should they be stolen or lost then the information within is not at risk. Missing mobile phones, laptops, discs and even USB’s have caused data breaches.
3. Employ a password policy within your business. No two passwords should be the same or even a slight variation. Passwords should be completely unique and never shared between users.
4. Never allow employees to send information to personal emails or to be accessed from unsecured devices.
5. Carry out regular maintenance on devices. Empty recycling bins, only keep data as long as you need to and remove any unwanted data to lower the risks.
Raising awareness to data protection and adopting better regulation is the only way to increase the security of sensitive information. Regulation needs to be adaptable as technology changes at a rapid rate meaning that data protection needs to change just as rapidly.
So did you know about Data Protection Day? Well if you didn’t you do now! This article is just one of a large repository of Direct Mail industry articles available on the Baker Goodchild website.
Image Credit: Emre Çelik[/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][/cs_content]
