With the global big data market set to be worth nearly $235 billion by 2026, to say that data is now core to business success today would be a massive understatement. From tweaking shipping strategies to delivering more relevant advertising campaigns to customers, businesses are constantly looking for ways to make more data-driven decisions. But with this access to consumer data comes great responsibility. And unfortunately, in many consumers’ eyes companies are not doing all they can to make sure that their data is being used securely and with the highest privacy standards in mind.
According to the Pew Research Center, 79% of U.S. adults report being concerned about the way their data is being used by companies. Respecting consumers’ privacy is a smart strategy for inspiring trust and enhancing reputation and growth in your business. Here at Contrast we are open and honest about how we collect, use, and share consumers’ personal information.
We regularly conduct an assessment of our data collection practices on a regular global level. We seek to understand which privacy laws and regulations apply to our business and follow reasonable security measures to keep individuals’ personal information safe from inappropriate and unauthorized access and make sure the personal data we collect is processed in a fair manner and only collected for relevant and legitimate purposes.
Prioritize Third-Party Cybersecurity
We maintain oversight of partners and vendors as well. If someone provides services on our behalf, we are also responsible for how they collect and use our consumers’ personal information. And as this year’s slew of supply chain attacks -- most notably the Kaseya and Accellion breaches -- have shown, third-party breaches can be just as hard-hitting as if Contrast was attacked directly. Therefore, we have a rigorous checklist in place to ensure that our partners are taking cybersecurity and data privacy seriously. Here are a few examples of how were ensure this:
- We have business continuity/disaster recovery plans. These plans are tested regularly
- We hire an external audit firm to perform a compliance review of our operational controls
- We have a pre-employment screening policy for employees and contractors
- Files and records reviewed, retained and purged in accordance with legal requirements, contractual obligations, and service level agreements
Adopt a Privacy Framework
Knowing the risks that Contrast faces in regard to data is pivotal to making sure it is safely maintained and used. However, only 57 percent of businesses conducted a data security risk assessment in 2020 (We are pleased to say we are part of that 57%). Researching and adopting a privacy framework has helped us to manage risk and create a culture of privacy in Contrast by building privacy into the base of our business.
Educate Employees
Ongoing training and awareness campaigns for employees are a must for businesses today especially as the digital world becomes more and more driven by remote work. Unfortunately, many businesses are coming up short in terms of their training and awareness efforts. For example, 44 percent of organizations provided no cybersecurity training geared towards remote work for their employees.
Data privacy success hinges on a business’s ability to create a culture that priorities privacy within their organization. At Contrast educating our employees about their role and Contrast’s obligations to protecting personal information is central to establishing this type of environment. We educate employees on our company's privacy policy and teach new employees about their role in our privacy culture during the onboarding process. We can then begin to build on these fundamentals by setting up ongoing training and awareness sessions, establishing fireside chats with leadership around cybersecurity, and building toolkits for employees to refer to on a daily basis.
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2021 was yet another watershed year in terms of business data use. And 2022 is likely to be another. Therefore, it is imperative that businesses put their best foot forward when it comes to data privacy, and these few steps can help them make significant strides in developing better privacy habits.
