Today, 28 January marks Data Privacy Day. This year’s theme for Data Privacy Day is ‘Respecting Privacy, Safeguarding Data and Enabling Trust’.
Jacqueline Jayne, Security Awareness Advocate for KnowBe4 APAC has sometips for Australians looking to protect their data:
- Check the privacy settings of all the apps you use. I found this great resource on Stay Safe Online where you can go directly to the privacy settings of the apps you use
Safe link https://staysafeonline.org/stay-safe-online/managing-your-privacy/manage-privacy-settings/
- Your Personal Identifiable Information (PII) is very valuable to cybercriminals so please think before you share it. PII is any data that can distinguish you from another person such as your name, address, email, phone numbers, tax file number and even social media posts.
- Do you really need to share your location, contacts, photos when installing an app? If an app asks to access this data when you are installing it, think hard – does it make sense for the app to have access to that?
What about Businesses?
Regardless of the size of your business, you have a role to play when it comes to keeping the data you collect safe. Your employees, customers and vendors place a lot of trust in you to keep it that way. If you haven’t stepped yourself and your employees through security awareness training, then it’s time you did. Like most things in life, awareness is the key and we are more connected than ever so cybersecurity is everyone’s responsibility, not your IT person or department.
There are privacy-related regulations and laws that you must be aware of. Here are a few key ones:
Australian Privacy Act https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2021C00024
Covid19 and the Privacy Act https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/guidance-and-advice/coronavirus-covid-19-understanding-your-privacy-obligations-to-your-staff/
Notifiable Data Breach scheme https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/notifiable-data-breaches/
Payment Card Industry Security Standards (PCI DSS) https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/pci_security/
Australian entities and the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/guidance-and-advice/australian-entities-and-the-eu-general-data-protection-regulation/
