Establishing Trust and Control in the Age of Data Privacy Regulation

One of the most important components of data privacy and security is being compliant with the regulations that call for the protection of information.

Regulators want to see transparency and controllability within organizations, because that is what makes them trustworthy from a data privacy and security standpoint. Ideally, organizations will deploy systems that provide compelling evidence to support their claims that they are meeting their requirements to deliver the protection and performance needed by stakeholders.

Protecting data from theft and improper use has long been the domain of cybersecurity and IT executives. But today, this is really a concern for the entire C-suite and, in many cases, the board of directors, all of whom are well aware of the repercussions of a data breach and failing to comply with regulations.

There is simply too much at risk when companies don’t ensure a level of control and trust in how they handle data. This is the case because of several converging trends:

• The ongoing growth in the volume of business data, including a huge amount of information about customers and employees — much of it personal and personally identifiable.

• The importance this data holds from a strategic standpoint. Companies rely on the insights they gain from analyzing market data to provide a competitive advantage.

• An ever-expanding threat landscape, with increasingly sophisticated and well-financed cybercriminals going after this data for profit.

• A disappearing enterprise “perimeter” with the increase in cloud services, remote work and mobile devices used by employees in various locations. The idea of a fixed perimeter protected by a firewall no longer applies to most organizations.

In the midst of all this is the increase in government regulations designed to hold organizations accountable for how they gather, store, share and use data. An organization that fails to comply with such regulations can face stiff fines and other penalties, as well as negative publicity and damage to its brand.

Gaining trust and control

One of the challenges with establishing control and trust with data is a lack of visibility regarding the data: where it resides, who has access to it, how it is being used, etc. Organizations need to know their level of risk and how risk can be mitigated, as well as their level of progress in enhancing data security and privacy.

Endpoint devices present a particularly high level of cyber risk, because of the challenges of managing a large and growing number of mobile devices and apps in the workplace, as well as desktops and laptops used for remote work. Many threat actors target corporate data for theft and extortion, and endpoint devices present potential entry points into an organization.

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