Privacy is one of our fundamental human rights. However, without sufficient data protection protocols, organizations increase their susceptibility to increasingly prevalent, complex, and consequential attempts to gain unauthorized access to private, sensitive information.
The average financial cost of a data breach is $4.88 million — higher than it’s ever been. This figure rises to $5.46 million for breaches with a lifecycle of more than 200 days. While the time it takes for organizations to respond and mitigate is decreasing, there is nonetheless still an ever-present risk of operational, financial, reputational, and personal consequences stemming from unauthorized access.
Fortunately, there are practical steps that companies can take to fortify their security posture and reduce their susceptibility to costly data breaches.
Data privacy refers to the policies and practices that govern how personal, corporate, and consumer data is collected, used, shared, and maintained. It focuses on ensuring that individuals have control over their personal and consumer data and that organizations handle this information in compliance with laws and regulations, thereby protecting individuals' rights to confidentiality and autonomy.
Data protection refers to the measures and technologies implemented to secure personal or sensitive information from unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. It involves the practical steps organizations take — such as encryption, access controls, and security protocols — to safeguard data integrity and prevent breaches or cyberattacks.
Naturally, there’s a degree of overlap between data protection and data privacy. Both pertain to safeguarding personal or sensitive corporate information and ensuring that data is handled responsibly and securely.
There are some gaps, however, between the two practices. The key differences between data protection and data privacy are:
Focus: Data privacy is concerned with the rights and control individuals have over their personal information — addressing how data is collected, used, and shared. Data protection focuses on securing that data from unauthorized access or breaches through technical measures.
Objective: The primary goal of data privacy is to ensure personal information is handled legally and ethically, respecting individuals' expectations. Data protection aims to maintain data confidentiality, integrity, and availability by preventing unauthorized access and loss.
Legal framework vs. technical measures: Data privacy involves compliance with laws and regulations governing personal data usage, such as GDPR or CCPA. Data protection, while requiring adherence to regulations, expands to involve implementing technological safeguards to protect data.
Responsibility: Data privacy is managed through organizational policies and practices that dictate the proper handling of personal information. Data protection is enforced by IT and security teams using tools and technologies to secure data assets.
Scope: Data privacy addresses the question of why and when personal data is processed. Data protection addresses how data is secured against threats and vulnerabilities.
Countries and their constitutions differ in how they approach data privacy and data protection regulations — and such regulations are promptly developing. Let’s look into where matters currently stand in Europe and the United States.
In Europe, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) governs both data privacy and protection. In the United States, there isn't a single, comprehensive federal data privacy law that governs data privacy and data protection across all sectors. Instead, the U.S. has a patchwork of federal and state laws that address various aspects of data privacy and protection.
The GDPR governs the collection, processing, and storage of personal data within the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA). It mandates that personal data be processed lawfully, transparently, and for specified legitimate purposes. Furthermore, the GDPR requires that individuals have the right to access, correct, and erase their data, restrict processing, and, under certain circumstances, object to data processing.
Additionally, it introduces the requirement for organizations to implement adequate security measures to protect personal data and notify authorities of data breaches without undue delay, among other requirements.
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Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA): HIPAA establishes federal standards to protect sensitive patient health information from being disclosed without the patient's consent or knowledge, among other data privacy and security functions.
The U.S. Privacy Act of 1974: As a long-standing privacy law, this act regulates data collection, maintenance, use, and dissemination by federal agencies and provides individuals with a means to access and amend their records.
Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA): COPPA protects the privacy of children under the age of 13 by requiring websites and online services directed at children to obtain parental consent before collecting, using, or disclosing personal information.
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA): The California Consumer Privacy Act grants California residents increased rights over their personal information, providing them control over the data businesses collect on them, including the rights to know about, delete, and opt out of the sale of their personal data.
The following list is a mix of protocols and technologies that organizations can adopt to help strengthen their security posture and protect individuals' fundamental rights to data privacy. It’s not an extensive list — often, organizations will need to tailor these practices to fit their specific industry standards, regulatory requirements, and unique security challenges.
For personalized guidance on how to strengthen your organization’s security posture, reach out to Trace3’s data security experts.
Encryption: Encryption is a security method where information is encoded in such a way that only authorized parties can access it. This process involves converting the original representation of the information, known as plaintext, into an alternative form called ciphertext. Only those who possess the encryption key can decipher the ciphertext back to plaintext and access the original information.
Data Loss Prevention (DLP): Data Loss Prevention (DLP) refers to systems and strategies that identify, monitor, and protect data in use, in motion, and at rest through deep content inspection and contextual security analysis. DLP tools help prevent the unintended or unauthorized transmission of sensitive information outside the corporate network.
Multi-factor Authentication (MFA): Multi-factor Authentication (MFA) is a security system that requires more than one authentication method from independent categories of credentials to verify the user’s identity for a login or other transaction. MFA combines two or more independent credentials: what the user knows (password), what the user has (security token), and what the user is (biometric verification).
Backup and recovery: This practice involves creating copies of data so that these additional versions can be used to restore the original after a data loss event. Backup systems are central to successful data recovery efforts, whether from data corruption, accidental deletion, or cyberattacks.
Firewalls and intrusion prevention: Firewalls act as barriers between secure internal networks and less secure external networks, like the internet, by analyzing incoming and outgoing data based on predefined security rules. Intrusion prevention systems (IPS) are network security tools that monitor network and system activities for malicious activity, log information about this activity, report it, and attempt to block or stop it.
Role-based Access Control (RBAC): RBAC is a method of restricting network access based on the roles of individual users within an enterprise. In this system, access to data is not based on the individual user's identity, but rather on the roles assigned to them in the organization. RBAC helps ensure that only authorized users have access to sensitive information, according to their role.
Endpoint protection: This is the practice of securing endpoints, or entry points of end-user devices such as desktops, laptops, and mobile devices, from being exploited by malicious actors and campaigns. Endpoint protection solutions detect, investigate, and respond to internal threats and external attacks, aiming to maintain the integrity of hardware and software.
Data discovery and classification: This process involves identifying data within an organization and categorizing it according to its level of sensitivity, regulatory compliance requirements, and business value. Effective data discovery and classification help enforce security policies and compliance measures by ensuring that appropriate protections, such as encryption and access controls, are applied to sensitive data.
Replication and redundancy: Replication involves copying and storing data in multiple locations to ensure it is available from another source in case of failure or loss. Redundancy refers to the duplication of core components or functions of a system intending to increase the reliability of the system, usually in the form of a backup or fail-safe.
Disaster recovery planning: This is the strategic, structured approach with policies and procedures set in place to enable the recovery or continuation of vital technology infrastructure and systems following a natural or human-induced disaster. Disaster recovery planning focuses on maintaining data availability and integrity and quickly resuming mission-critical functions.
Data is the lifeblood of every modern organization. To protect it and ensure data security, companies must work to stay one step ahead.
Every organization is unique, characterized by its own aspirations, challenges, and capabilities. Trace3’s data strategy offerings are tailored to quickly engage with these distinct elements, emphasizing the identification of key issues, exploration of potential solutions, and selection of the most suitable path forward for your organization. Each engagement begins with an in-depth discovery process that allows our team to grasp management's objectives and foster a shared understanding among all stakeholders.
Trace3’s Data & Analytics solutions include:
Data Strategy & Roadmap
Data & Analytics Program Assessment
Data Governance Program Design & Implementation
AI Center of Excellence Enablement
Enterprise Performance Management Strategy
Executive Workshops & Focused Research
Data security consultants work closely with executives and technical leaders to translate their priorities and needs into comprehensive, data-driven strategies that boost:
Innovation
Operational excellence
Enhanced customer experiences
By optimizing key pillars such as talent, data, technology, and processes, a solid foundation is established for success and aligns strategic visions with measurable value impacts. Trace3’s approach incorporates use-case-driven processes, design thinking, and innovation workshops to engage teams, involve key stakeholders, and identify clear paths to achievement.
At Trace3, we recognize the importance of maintaining momentum to achieve the outcomes our clients expect. From the beginning, our consultants assist leaders in developing actionable strategies that swiftly tackle their most urgent challenges. This momentum is key for providing decision-makers with the data-driven insights needed to make immediate and significant contributions to the business.
For more information, review this Data Protection and Security solution brief. If you have any questions about how Trace3 can best serve your organization’s specific data protection and privacy needs, please get in touch with one of our team members.