As the internet age evolves, protecting personal information has become increasingly important. With much personal information transmitted through computer networks, ensuring data privacy has become a crucial mandate.
Most companies must abide by privacy regulations such as HIPAA, GDPR, or those specific to their industry or location. By 2024, it is projected that 75% of the global population will have their data covered by one or more privacy laws.
Data privacy compliance should be a priority, regardless of the size of your organisation. It is closely linked to cybersecurity and affects companies of all sizes. Even small enterprises need to keep privacy requirements in mind.
From July 2020 to July 2021, the number of GDPR violations increased by 113.5%, and the associated fines rose by 124.92%. Regarding HIPAA violations, each infraction can result in a penalty ranging from $100 to $25,000.
It’s crucial to prioritise and incorporate data privacy into all data collection processes. When companies collect, transmit, or store personally identifiable information (PII), it must be protected with appropriate safeguards. Making data privacy a priority is essential in ensuring the safety of sensitive information.
To ensure ongoing compliance with privacy obligations, staying informed about current trends in the field is crucial. In the following section, we have documented the most significant data privacy trends in 2023 that you must be aware of. Staying on top of these developments will help you maintain your privacy compliance.
What’s New in Data Privacy Compliance?
AI Governance
Approximately 40% of privacy compliance technology uses artificial intelligence (AI). AI has increasingly integrated into our daily applications, from predictive text suggestions in MS Word to smile correction in Photoshop.
It is, therefore, not surprising that AI is powering many of the algorithms responsible for data protection. However, what happens when there’s a problem with AI? This is where the concept of AI governance comes in.
AI governance is a growing trend in data privacy as AI is becoming increasingly prevalent throughout the data journey. When AI is used for data protection purposes, organisations must govern it properly to prevent the accidental exposure of sensitive information through automated processes.
Consumer Privacy UX
A trend that has emerged in recent months is the empowerment of consumers in terms of privacy. Many privacy regulations mandate that apps and websites be transparent about the data they collect, how they manage it, and how it is used. Consumers also have the right to retrieve their data.
This has led to the development of consumer privacy user experience (UX), a centralised privacy portal for users to access privacy settings across various apps and has greater visibility into how their data is used.
Increased Scrutiny of Remote Employee Monitoring
The COVID-19 crisis has substantially changed how the global workforce operates, with many organisations transitioning to fully remote or hybrid work models. The increase in remote work has necessitated changes in data collection practices, leading to increased monitoring of off-site employees.
However, this type of monitoring raises concerns about data privacy, as organisations must be mindful of not violating the privacy rights of their employees, especially when it comes to monitoring employee devices.
For instance, almost half of remote workers use their personal computers for work purposes, and companies may implement endpoint device monitoring for security reasons. They must ensure that they do not collect or back up any personal data belonging to the employees, as it is not the company’s property.
Data Localisation
The popularity of the social app TikTok has brought to light the issue of location-based data privacy. The company is based in China and subject to Chinese government data privacy regulations, many people have expressed concerns about the safety of their personal information stored on the app’s servers.
This has led to increased data localisation efforts as organisations consider the location of their cloud data storage. The privacy regulations and laws governing data vary from country to country, and many companies and governments now demand to know where their data is stored and seek to keep it within their jurisdiction. This trend towards keeping data close to home is becoming more widespread.
Privacy-Enhancing Computation (PEC)
The concept of “Data Privacy” is a recent development in the field. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is pivotal in enhancing cybersecurity through privacy-enhancing computation (PEC). Integrating PEC into software and applications increases data protection automation and addresses privacy concerns for clients.
As you search for business tools, watch for PEC components in data analytics.
When was your last privacy compliance review conducted?
Are you confident in the measures you have in place to protect your data privacy? Don’t leave yourself vulnerable to a potential fine caused by inadequate controls. Reach out to Qamba for assistance with a compliance evaluation.
