A GUIDE FOR MANAGEMENT & DATA PROTECTION OFFICERS
Our generation saw a tectonic shift in what creates value in societies and economies. Resulting to the emergence of the digital economy as a driver of global growth. Data has come to replace oil as the greatest currency, prompting economists to hail it as “the new oil”. Braving this new frontier are innovative governments and businesses. They utilized personal data to improve existing services, products and policies. In so doing, they ended up generating better alternatives and new leads for future growth. For the first time in history, we are able to use personal data to build a society responsive to the needs of all. Unfortunately, along with the good came the bad. And so we see today how criminals can hijack personal data for malicious ends.
Threats to data privacy come from various actors. They include state-sponsored, hacktivists and commercial actors. State-sponsored actors usually target organizations with proprietary data such as those involved in technology, pharmaceuticals or finance. They aim to gain sustained access to an organization’s IT infrastructure. On the other hand, hacktivists are generally viewed as those who use technology hacking to promote a political agenda and effect social change. Commercial or fraudoriented actors are highly equipped and knowledgeable threat actors primarily interested in money they include identity thieves and personal data marketers.
Thus, the practice of information security becomes essential in ensuring personal data protection. By definition, information security is the process of protecting physical and electronic information from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, inspection, recording or destruction.
However, information security has become a tough job for organizations. Technological advancements that interconnect the world in an unprecedented degree, also brings with it countless types of threats. Threats that undermine privacy arise every day while organizations still address threats which have long been existing. As the online realm infinitely evolves, organizations’ shields should always be up and constantly upgraded.
Thus, the NPC lists the following items that you, as a DPO, should currently be on the look out for to secure your organizations’ information and avoid data breaches. This section underscores not only the common attacks but also the internal factors that makes organizations vulnerable as well as the emerging platforms used by perpetrators.
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