Life seems to be moving at a blazingly fast pace. As so does technology. Maybe even more so. Meaning, it is no wonder we sometimes feel overwhelmed and questioning whether we can keep up. Yes, it is hard to keep up with new technological advances and the threats accompanying them. But the fact is that because technology is moving so fast, that is exactly the reason to stay on top of the latest cybersecurity knowledge and solutions. The saying “New is always better” is clearly not always true, but when it comes to securing our devices, there is some truth to it. We trust what we know, and with technology changing rapidly, we may prefer to keep on using outdated, but trusted, products. But there are a few things to consider, especially in the field of digital security. There are malicious threats we need protection from that are testing and honing exploitation techniques against software product – especially older versions. Upgrading to new software can be a difficult decision, especially when a business has invested heavily in a particular product or funds are scarce to ensure continuity after an upgrade. Some businesses may not want to update at all. Yet sometimes the manufacturer or software provider can press the issue by bringing products to their end of life. End of Life. Also known as a product sunset, this date is a communicated conclusion to the manufacturer’s support for a product (or service) and is generally preceded by a period of limited support. In basic terms, this means that change is afoot.
What is EOL? End of Life is a policy change, applying to platforms or products, that has reached the end of its useful life. This decision is made by the manufacturer and typically occurs many years after the software’s or hardware’s production.
EOL policies evolve with the aim of reducing the number of older product versions that demand constant attention and maintenance. Why do providers do this? To focus time and resources on newer products so that they get the attention they need to protect our customers against new arising threats. Progress cannot be stopped, but attempts are constantly made via new threats to interrupt our journey forward. ESET is here to protect progress, so instead of resisting this momentum, we should ensure we not only appreciate the new technology but also the new threats. The newer the product, the better it is adapted to protect in the current threat environment. This will allow for better protection and make for a smoother experience for our business customers.
It is very important, and we strongly advise our users, to always run the latest version of ESET products. Users should also ensure that other critical software, especially your device’s Operating System (OS), is up to date and fully supported. The status of your OS is very important as it can have many implications to core functions and security too. For example, there have recently been changes to Window´s End of Life policy. To read more click on this link.
The upgrade to the latest ESET product versions has always been at “no cost,” and that is still the case to this day; the fact that access to new product versions is included in the price of your valid license remains unchanged. In this way, updates allow users to employ the most advanced security technologies that are high performing and easy to use, all of which help make our products more effective for you. To check ESET´s End of Life policy click this link.
About Version 2 Digital
Version 2 Digital is one of the most dynamic IT companies in Asia. The company distributes a wide range of IT products across various areas including cyber security, cloud, data protection, end points, infrastructures, system monitoring, storage, networking, business productivity and communication products.
Through an extensive network of channels, point of sales, resellers, and partnership companies, Version 2 offers quality products and services which are highly acclaimed in the market. Its customers cover a wide spectrum which include Global 1000 enterprises, regional listed companies, different vertical industries, public utilities, Government, a vast number of successful SMEs, and consumers in various Asian cities.
About ESET For 30 years, ESET® has been developing industry-leading IT security software and services for businesses and consumers worldwide. With solutions ranging from endpoint security to encryption and two-factor authentication, ESET’s high-performing, easy-to-use products give individuals and businesses the peace of mind to enjoy the full potential of their technology. ESET unobtrusively protects and monitors 24/7, updating defenses in real time to keep users safe and businesses running without interruption. Evolving threats require an evolving IT security company. Backed by R&D facilities worldwide, ESET became the first IT security company to earn 100 Virus Bulletin VB100 awards, identifying every single “in-the-wild” malware without interruption since 2003.
We all hope to have some peace and quiet during the holiday season, not just in the physical world, but also in the digital one. But we got used to using our devices for ordering presents online, communicating with family through video chat, and looking for good deals online. And those are exactly the snippets of your time, that cybercriminals take advantage of.
It´s no wonder there is a surge of holiday-themed SMS phishing or smishing. According to Proofpoint research, instances of smishing doubled in 2021 in comparison to 2020 during the holiday season. Most of the texts sent during this time are related to delivery or retail messaging. Cybercriminals pray on Black Friday, Cyber Monday and other retail-important events, but also deliveries post purchase. But why exactly do they choose SMS as their threat vector?
Text messages are easier than email, since they can be short, and what´s more, text messages have a 98% open rate, and 95% of texts are opened and responded to within the first three minutes of its delivery. And what is even more, the chance of a person being cautious with a text compared to an email is much lower. The click through rate for text messages is eight times higher than email, and yet less than 35% of the population knows smishing exists.
These text messages claim to be good deals, or delivery information for a non-existent package. And since many people order not just one package from just one online store, they don’t always give it much thought as to what this particular item might be. These smishing texts contain a click-through link to a landing page attempting to steal your personal information. So what exactly would a smishing message look like?
There are certainly some characteristics to look out for.
Unfamiliar sender – this may be an unknown or strange-looking number
Urgency – just like traditional email phishing campaigns, smishing messages urge you to act quick, or your package will be returned to sender, or the offer deal is about to end
Links – links to landing pages and sites where you are expected to enter your personal information
Requests – they may often request you to provide personal or financial details
How not to become a smishing victim?
First of all, think twice before clicking on any links and requests, is a great rule of thumb for your cybersecurity in general. But more specifically, when receiving an unknown or suspicious text message, do not click on any links, reply to the message or provide any personal information. Instead, either ignore or completely delete the message. And if you are still not sure if the message is real or not, search for the organization, government body or e-store online, contact them, and assure yourself of the legitimacy of said message Best cybersecurity gift
To make your life easier, and this season more peaceful, give yourself the gift of cybersecurity and opt for a good mobile security solution. ESET Mobile Security aims to provide a safe environment for you to enjoy time with loved ones without worrying about your digital safety.
The solution aims to protect and secure your device from criminal activity using manipulation of users, known as social engineering, into gaining access to sensitive data such as bank account credentials, card numbers, PIN numbers, usernames and passwords.
The anti-phishing protection feature is now bolstered by a new Anti-smishing feature. This defends and warns the user against any messages containing malicious links after delivery, making sure you are protected even before opening the message and any links the message might contain.
We recommend you turn this feature on from its default off state, to ensure you are fully protected, especially during quality time with loved ones. All malicious websites, listed in our ESET malware database, will be blocked and a warning notification will be displayed informing you of the attempted attack.
ESET Mobile Security makes your Android phones and devices easy to find and harder to steal, as well as helping to protect your valuable data. ESET is already trusted by millions of users around the world to keep their data safe. ESET helps protect the Google Play store and is trusted by millions of users like you around the world, and is dedicated to the online safety and education of children and their parents. Click here to find out more.
About Version 2 Digital
Version 2 Digital is one of the most dynamic IT companies in Asia. The company distributes a wide range of IT products across various areas including cyber security, cloud, data protection, end points, infrastructures, system monitoring, storage, networking, business productivity and communication products.
Through an extensive network of channels, point of sales, resellers, and partnership companies, Version 2 offers quality products and services which are highly acclaimed in the market. Its customers cover a wide spectrum which include Global 1000 enterprises, regional listed companies, different vertical industries, public utilities, Government, a vast number of successful SMEs, and consumers in various Asian cities.
About ESET For 30 years, ESET® has been developing industry-leading IT security software and services for businesses and consumers worldwide. With solutions ranging from endpoint security to encryption and two-factor authentication, ESET’s high-performing, easy-to-use products give individuals and businesses the peace of mind to enjoy the full potential of their technology. ESET unobtrusively protects and monitors 24/7, updating defenses in real time to keep users safe and businesses running without interruption. Evolving threats require an evolving IT security company. Backed by R&D facilities worldwide, ESET became the first IT security company to earn 100 Virus Bulletin VB100 awards, identifying every single “in-the-wild” malware without interruption since 2003.
Ransomware is considered one of the biggest threats to business in 2022. In this type of cyberattack, hackers block their victims’ computers and charge a ransom to unlock them.
You may be wondering: what are the basic steps of an Incident Response Plan for ransomware or what an Incident Response Plan should include? So we prepared this article.
Here are the aspects a proper response to a ransomware attack should include:
Risk Assessment
Identification of a Ransomware Attack
Defining the Scope of the Attack
Isolation of Affected Systems Elimination of Malicious Software Disclosure of the Attack Environment Recovery Incident Recovery Plan Application of Lessons Learned
Keep reading this article and learn all about it! Basic Steps of an Incident Response Plan An Incident Response Plan involving ransomware shall cover the following steps: Risk Assessment The first step for those who want to design an Incident Response Plan involving ransomware is to assess the risks and threats faced by the company. In this step, you should understand which types of ransomware your company is most vulnerable to and which assets and data would be most impacted. In addition, it is important to know how and to what extent your organization would be affected by a ransomware attack. Identification of a Ransomware Attack When implementing an Incident Response Plan for ransomware, it is possible to identify an attack, taking into account there are many types of malware similar to ransomware, and the main signs of the latter are encryption and file blocking. Defining the Scope of the Attack In an Incident Response Plan for ransomware, defining the scope of the attack is equivalent to measuring how much data and systems were affected by it. That is when you will know if the attack affected a single server, or if all your files kept in the data center or the cloudwere impacted as well. Isolation of Affected Systems The next step is to stop ransomware activities by isolating the affected systems in order to contain the attack and immediately putting the affected systems and networks offline. If this is not possible, disconnect the compromised devices or remove them from Wi-Fi to prevent ransomware infection from spreading. Elimination of Malicious Software After containing the attack and isolating the affected systems, you must respond to the incident by eliminating malicious software and making sure the attack has been stopped. In the Incident Response Plan for ransomware, this is the time to assess the extent of the damage and check for backups to the locked files.
Disclosure of the Attack
Certain data protection laws and compliance regulations provide that attacks affecting sensitive data must be notified to authorities and persons who have had their information exposed.
So, if a ransomware attack has affected your customers’ data, be prepared to make the disclosure, according to the steps established by the regulatory bodies.
Environment Recovery
After removing the malicious software and disclosing the attack, the focus should be on restoring systems and data by using the backup to retrieve information and reinstalling the systems.
In this step, the security team must work in collaboration with the IT team, ensuring all security mechanisms are updated before reinstalling the impacted systems.
Incident Recovery Plan
If you are not prepared to restore systems and data after the attack, you will need to create an Incident Recovery Plan for ransomware.
This activity may be a bit time-consuming, but it is essential to avoid errors during recovery. In this step, you should also look for ways to recover files that were not saved in backups.
Application of Lessons Learned
Once you have recovered the data and restored your business operations, it is essential to check what has happened. Making a solid assessment of what motivated the ransomware attack will help your company not make the same mistakes and prepare employees to deal with future situations.
Relevant Statistics on Ransomware
Here are some relevant figures about ransomware attacks:
9% of Americans have been targeted by this type of attack;
Two-thirds of ransomware infections are caused by phishing emails;
Annually, ransomware attacks generate $1 billion for malicious attackers;
It is believed a ransomware attack will take place every 11 seconds by the end of 2022.
In 2020, schools and colleges were the main targets of ransomware attacks.
About senhasegura
We are senhasegura, a company widely recognized as a leader in cybersecurity. Our purpose is to provide sovereignty over sensitive data to the companies that hire us, using PAM to prevent data theft and leaks, as well as shutdowns in activities, which damage the results of corporations.
To achieve this goal, we track the lifecycle of privileged access management and use machine automation before, during, and after access.
Moreover, we automatically audit the use of privileges and privileged actions to prevent abuse, reducing cyber risks. We also bring organizations into compliance with audit criteria and standards such as HIPAA, PCI DSS, ISO 27001, and Sarbanes-Oxley.
Conclusion
In this article, you saw that:
Ransomware is a cyberattack in which hackers block their victims’ computers and charge a ransom to unlock them;
An Incident Response Plan involving ransomware must include the risk assessment, identification of the attack, definition of the scope of the attack, isolation of the affected systems, elimination of malicious software, disclosure of the attack, and recovery of the environment among its steps;
It is also critical to verify what happened after implementing the Incident Response Plan for ransomware; and
Alarming numbers reveal ransomware is one of the main cyber threats today.
Did you like our article? Then share it with someone who wants to learn more about Incident Response Plan for ransomware.
Version 2 Digital is one of the most dynamic IT companies in Asia. The company distributes a wide range of IT products across various areas including cyber security, cloud, data protection, end points, infrastructures, system monitoring, storage, networking, business productivity and communication products.
Through an extensive network of channels, point of sales, resellers, and partnership companies, Version 2 offers quality products and services which are highly acclaimed in the market. Its customers cover a wide spectrum which include Global 1000 enterprises, regional listed companies, different vertical industries, public utilities, Government, a vast number of successful SMEs, and consumers in various Asian cities.
About Segura® Segura® strive to ensure the sovereignty of companies over actions and privileged information. To this end, we work against data theft through traceability of administrator actions on networks, servers, databases and a multitude of devices. In addition, we pursue compliance with auditing requirements and the most demanding standards, including PCI DSS, Sarbanes-Oxley, ISO 27001 and HIPAA.
December 15, 2022 – We have released a new version of GREYCORTEX Mendel. Version brings a new view of security and risks that individual subnets and hosts bring, advanced NetFlow processing and integration with other tools and security platforms.
The new version is already available for new installations and will also be gradually released on December 19 for an online upgrade.
Version 2 Digital is one of the most dynamic IT companies in Asia. The company distributes a wide range of IT products across various areas including cyber security, cloud, data protection, end points, infrastructures, system monitoring, storage, networking, business productivity and communication products.
Through an extensive network of channels, point of sales, resellers, and partnership companies, Version 2 offers quality products and services which are highly acclaimed in the market. Its customers cover a wide spectrum which include Global 1000 enterprises, regional listed companies, different vertical industries, public utilities, Government, a vast number of successful SMEs, and consumers in various Asian cities.
About GREYCORTEX GREYCORTEX uses advanced artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data mining methods to help organizations make their IT operations secure and reliable.
MENDEL, GREYCORTEX’s network traffic analysis solution, helps corporations, governments, and the critical infrastructure sector protect their futures by detecting cyber threats to sensitive data, networks, trade secrets, and reputations, which other network security products miss.
MENDEL is based on 10 years of extensive academic research and is designed using the same technology which was successful in four US-based NIST Challenges.
“The house of every one is to him as his Castle and Fortress as well for defense against injury and violence…”— Sir Edward Coke, English judge and jurist.
Coke uttered the famous words across the pond more than 400 years ago. For centuries, the legal precedent has underpinned the right to freedom from intrusion.
One can only imagine what Coke would think about today’s ongoing privacy debate between consumers, big tech, and legal systems.
No longer are homes the only places we store personal information. Today’s companies have multiple options (and incentives) for collecting, storing, and sharing data.
As the IT admin of a small-to-medium-sized enterprise (SME), what do these developments mean for you? And what are the essential things you need to know about data privacy laws?
Keep reading to learn more about data security versus data protection, the history of data privacy laws, and the most relevant laws in the U.S. and Europe. In addition, we’ll share our best tips on how to strengthen your compliance efforts.
Data Privacy Laws and Why They Exist
The topic of data privacy entered the world stage in 2018. That’s when the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal flashed across news headlines around the world.The New York Times reported that the company harvested the Facebook profiles of 50 million users, without their permission, for nefarious political purposes.
Shortly after, several high-profile data breaches further emphasized the need for enhanced data privacy and security regulations. Google+ developers discovered a breach that allowed 438 external apps to access 500,000 Google+ users’ data, including names, emails, addresses, occupations, genders, and ages. The result?
Lawmakers and regulators worldwide are now taking data privacy seriously. Several laws and regulations have popped up in recent years to protect people’s privacy. The most notable and expansive of these are the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in the United States. We’ll dive into these regulations in a moment, but first, let’s define data privacy laws.
What Are Data Privacy Laws?
Data privacy laws are mandates that govern how organizations can collect, use, and share personal information. The laws exist to protect individuals from having their personal data mishandled or misused.
In addition, data privacy laws set standards for how organizations must handle and secure data and give data subjects rights over their information. This often includes the right to know and permit what information is collected, the right to have it erased, and the right to object to its use.
The specifics of data privacy laws vary from country to country. But they all aim to achieve the same goal: to protect people’s information from falling into the wrong hands.
Benefits of Data Privacy Laws
The benefits of data privacy laws for individual data subjects are self-evident. However, they may seem somewhat burdensome for corporations.
After all, complying with data privacy laws requires significant time, resources, and money investments. But make no mistake, adhering to data privacy laws is not only the right thing to do, but it’s also good for business.
1. Enhance Consumer Trust (and Credibility)
In a world where data breaches are becoming increasingly common, customers want to work with companies they can trust.
In fact, 71% of respondents in a 2020 McKinsey survey stated they would take their business elsewhere if a company released sensitive information without permission. Complying with data privacy regulations sends a strong signal to stakeholders that you take privacy seriously and do everything you can to protect their data.
2. Level the Playing Field
Submitting all companies to the same standards means the differentiating factor would be products and service quality, not who has the most lenient data privacy practices. This is particularly important for SMEs that lack the resources of larger corporations and would be at a competitive disadvantage if there were no data privacy regulations.
Understanding Data Sovereignty
As noted earlier, different countries have different nuances on data privacy laws, making the discussion on data sovereignty ever-important.
Data sovereignty is the concept that data should be stored and managed in compliance with the laws of its country of origin. This is especially critical for companies that operate in multiple countries, as they need to ensure that their data complies with the laws of each country.
It also extends to the idea that organizations should store data originating from a country in the same country to avoid subjecting individuals’ privacy to a foreign government’s jurisdiction.
Data sovereignty has immense relevance in cloud storage applications as companies sometimes host servers in different countries from where the data is collected. Data sovereignty will become even more critical as the internet grows and expands.
Data Security vs. Data Protection
People often use the terms data security and data protection interchangeably without realizing they are two completely different concepts.
Data Security
Data security is the practice of restricting access to data. This includes ensuring that only certain users can obtain data and that information is not modified or destroyed without authorization.
Data security is vital for both individuals and organizations, as it helps protect information from being misused or stolen. Examples of data security strategies include encryption, firewalls, and password protection.
Organizations can use an IT toolkit like the JumpCloud Directory Platform to streamline data security compliance, oversee device management in heterogeneous environments, provision/deprovision users, and enforce password controls.
Data Protection
Data protection involves safeguarding data from loss or damage. It includes measures such as backing up data and storing it in a secure location to ensure that important data is not lost in the event that security measures fail.
For example, suppose cyberattackers seize control of an organization’s server in a ransomware attack. In that case, data protection measures ensure that the organization can still access its data.
Though relevant as the last line of defense in a wider security strategy, data protection is also handy for other reasons besides malicious attacks. For example, it helps businesses recover from data loss due to technical failures or human error.
Also, if different locations house data (e.g., on premises and in the cloud), data protection helps ensure critical systems don’t grind to a halt if one storage location goes down.
The Four Basic Data Privacy Protections
Oftentimes, implementing data privacy policies is challenging for organizations because they don’t approach it as a baseline for operations.
Instead, they treat it as an afterthought and only focus on meeting regulatory compliance when required. At JumpsCloud, we’ve seen SMEs take a similar approach with IT security compliance measures to their own detriment.
Organizations seeking to take a proactive approach to data privacy should have the following protective measures in place as mandated by the General Data Protection Regulation and other similar laws:
Data Collection and Sharing Rights
Your privacy approach should include letting users know what types of data you collect, how you use it, who you’ll share it with, and what purpose you’ll use it for.
It should also inform and enable them to exercise their rights over their data, such as the right to access, delete, or correct their data.
They should also have the right to deny third-party access to some or all of their data.
Opt-In (Consent)
What’s better than letting your users know what data you handle? Asking their permission for how you intend to handle it.
It’s common for websites to have pre-ticked boxes that allow users to opt out of cookies or the collection of certain information. This is neither good practice nor in line with the laws, such as the GDPR’s cookie consent requirements.
Require your customers to take clear and proactive action to indicate that they agree to have their data collected.
Data Minimization and Storage Limitation
Only collect and store the data that is necessary for you to fulfill your business purpose. For example, suppose you’re a business that sells products. In that case, you’ll need to store data such as the customer’s name, shipping address, and payment information.
Don’t store data such as visitor browsing history on your site or the sites they visit after leaving yours. Furthermore, limit the amount of time you keep data. For instance, you can delete customer data once they haven’t interacted with your site for a certain period, such as 12 months.
Perhaps, the most shocking cautionary tale is the double-header case of AdultFriendFinder, where a dating website got hacked twice, and very private information of users was made available on the dark web. What was already a sticky situation became even worse. It turned out that the data of former users who had deleted their accounts were still being kept and were among those leaked.
Nondiscrimination and No Data-Use Discrimination
This protection requires you not to engage in discriminatory behavior against individuals who choose to exercise their data privacy rights.
For example, you cannot charge a higher price, refuse service, or give them a lower quality service because they exercised their right to access or delete their data. Also, you can’t use collected data to profile individuals along discriminatory lines.
For instance, using data to target ads or content to individuals based on their race, ethnicity, gender, religion, disability, or other discriminating factors could violate your data subjects’ rights.
Evolution of Data Privacy
As referenced in our introduction, the notion of privacy has been around long before the digital age. Here’s some additional fun facts for the history buffs out there:
In 1890, two Americans, Samuel Warren and Louis Brandeis wrote “The Right to Privacy.” The article advocated individuals “be left alone” and not have their lives turned into public spectacles. With time, the need to protect people’s information became more apparent as the technological landscape changed.
In 1967, an interesting development to the U.S. constitution’s fourth amendment arose in Katz v. The U.S., where investigators had recorded a gambler’s conversations on a public telephone. The court held that the right to privacy extended beyond a person’s house, papers, and effects to include areas where a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy, such as a telephone booth, as in this case.
Katz vs. The U.S. accelerated the movement toward data privacy, and in time, Sweden enacted the first national data privacy law in 1973.
The 1980s saw the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) release data privacy guidelines which then and till today, form the basis for many data privacy laws around the world.
Then came the internet, which made it easier for organizations to store more information than ever. In response, the European Union (EU) passed the Data Protection Directive in 1995.
During the Wild West days of the internet, data privacy concerns took the backseat while data security rode shotgun. However, this soon changed with the rise of big data firms such as Google, Amazon, and Facebook in the 2000s.
The massive data these organizations collected, coupled with high-profile privacy scandals, made it inevitable that data privacy would come to the forefront again.
As previously mentioned, several countries have enacted data privacy laws reflecting its greater importance. Meanwhile, only time can tell what new technologies will develop and what concerns and responses to data privacy they might bring.
U.S. Data Privacy Laws
The United States does not have a single, all-encompassing data privacy law. Instead, it relies on a patchwork of federal and state laws and industry-specific regulations.
National Privacy Legislation
There are several pieces of U.S. federal legislation that deal with data privacy. Perhaps the most popular are the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
HIPAA establishes national standards to protect people’s medical information. It applies to healthcare providers, health plans, and other medical information organizations.
The GLBA requires financial organizations to safeguard sensitive information and explain their information-sharing procedures to customers. It also demands that they respect the customer’s right to opt out of any data sharing with unaffiliated parties.
COPPA protects the online privacy of children under 13 by prohibiting website operators from collecting personal information from children without parental consent.
State Privacy Legislation
Several states also have data privacy laws. For example, The Massachusetts Data Privacy Law is one of the most comprehensive state data privacy laws. It requires businesses to take reasonable security measures to protect personal information. It imposes harsh penalties for companies that suffer data breaches.
California has the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which came into effect in 2020. The act contains residents’ right to know what personal information is being collected about them, the right to delete that information, and the right to opt out of its sale. With few exceptions, the CCPA contains as many measures as the GDPR.
There is also the Nevada Internet Privacy Law, with similar provisions to the CCPA but limited to online and web services only.
EU Data Privacy Laws
The European Union has one of the world’s most comprehensive data privacy laws. The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into effect in 2018 and builds on the EU’s 1995 Data Protection Directive.
The GDPR requires businesses to get explicit consent from individuals before collecting, using, or sharing their personal data. It also gives individuals the right to know what private data organizations collect about them, the right to have that data erased, and the right to object to its use.
The GDPR applies to data processes irrespective of whether the data is collected online or offline; or whether or not the business is in the EU.
Companies that violate the GDPR can receive a fine of 4% of their annual global revenue or €20 million, whichever is greater.
Data Privacy Quick Tips for SMEs
So, what can SMEs do to comply with data privacy laws? Here are some quick tips:
Get rid of dark patterns: You know how easy it is to use those complicated menus to frustrate users and discourage them from using the opt-out button. Or how easy it is to place confusing words like “Don’t Not Sell My Personal Information” beside the “I agree” checkbox. Well, don’t use them. Dark patterns are not only annoying to your user; specific instances of them could also be illegal under relevant laws.
Implement privacy by design: This means building privacy into your products and services from the ground up. It starts with understanding what personal data you are collecting and why. Do you really need it? Can you get by with an email address? Once you’ve decided what data you need, figure out how to collect it to minimize the risk of exposure. For example, if you’re managing sensitive information like health data, consider using encryption to keep this information safe both during and after collection.
Communicate changes in policy: If you change your privacy policy, communicate these changes to your users. Also, ensure you provide an option for users to opt into the new policy. It goes without saying that you should also make it easy for users to find your privacy policy on your website or app.
Data privacy is more than the internet: Remember that privacy laws also apply to offline data collection. This includes data collected through paper forms, over the phone, or in person. So, if you collect this type of information, take steps to protect this information from exposure and use it only for the purpose it was collected.
Improve IT Security Hygiene with JumpCloud
Data privacy laws are constantly evolving, and businesses must keep up to date with the latest changes. By understanding the basics of data privacy, you can ensure your organization complies with relevant laws and protects your customers’ personal information.
Did you know that instituting and enforcing IT hygiene policies helps improve organizational data privacy, security, and protection posture?Learn how organizations can adopt data-hygienic practices, improve data privacy, and avoid breaches in The IT Manager’s Guide to Data Compliance Hygiene.
Version 2 Digital is one of the most dynamic IT companies in Asia. The company distributes a wide range of IT products across various areas including cyber security, cloud, data protection, end points, infrastructures, system monitoring, storage, networking, business productivity and communication products.
Through an extensive network of channels, point of sales, resellers, and partnership companies, Version 2 offers quality products and services which are highly acclaimed in the market. Its customers cover a wide spectrum which include Global 1000 enterprises, regional listed companies, different vertical industries, public utilities, Government, a vast number of successful SMEs, and consumers in various Asian cities.
About JumpCloud At JumpCloud, our mission is to build a world-class cloud directory. Not just the evolution of Active Directory to the cloud, but a reinvention of how modern IT teams get work done. The JumpCloud Directory Platform is a directory for your users, their IT resources, your fleet of devices, and the secure connections between them with full control, security, and visibility.
