Since its launch in 2006, every year on the 28th January, the entire privacy community across the world celebrates Data Privacy Day, known as Data Protection Day in Europe.
So, why is Data Privacy Day needed?
It’s estimated that in 2019 there were at least 7.9 billion records exposed through data breaches. The exposed data records included email addresses, phone numbers, credit numbers, even home addresses, as well as other sensitive data. Not only does this leave individuals open to fraud and identity theft, but it also leaves businesses open to significant fines, negative headlines and poor reputation.
Not even two years since it came into effect in May 2018, there have been 182 GDPR fines issued across Europe, with a combined total of over €104 million.
Headlines have focused on the big fines issued to big-name companies such as Google, but it must not be forgotten that they have also been handed to smaller SMEs who have failed to protect their customers’ data and their rights under GDPR’s requirements.
Organizations’ failures to adhere to their obligations typically stem from one of two shortcomings: outright ignorance of applicable legislation or that they are in scope, or overconfidence in their current adherence.
Both of these come down to the same thing: insufficient awareness.
This is why Data Privacy Day is so important. The international day is used to increase awareness of data privacy for not only data subjects, so they understand their rights to privacy, but also to both remind businesses of their data privacy obligations, and encourage them to check the current health of their compliance.
As part of our duty to contribute to supporting users and businesses alike, we have built a dedicated resource centre for Data Privacy Day, including new content to keep you updated, informed and most importantly, more aware of the critical nuances of Data Privacy.
Data Privacy Day Resource Centre
The Data Privacy Day resource centre is for privacy professionals as well as those dealing with privacy within their organisations. It includes unique analysis and infographics, as well as new practical guides alongside key industry observations we’re seeing from our client engagements.
Visit here to find out more: https://calligo.cloud/services/data-privacy-services/data-privacy-day-28-january
