January 28 is Data Privacy Day
How do you protect your personal data? January 28 is Data Privacy Day and is a way of focussing attention on the importance of personal data protection.
Data Privacy Day, also known as Data Protection Day (DPD) or #DataPrivacyDay on social media, is the anniversary of a legally binding international treaty – Convention 108 – which seeks to protect individuals against abuses as the result of the collection and processing of personal data.
Acknowledging this treaty on January 28 is a way of focussing attention on the importance of personal data protection.
A global opportunity to promote privacy awareness
The first Data Privacy Day was held in 2007 and then it was known as the European Data Protection Day. In 2009, the USA’s House of Representatives declared January 28 National Data Privacy Day and the following year, the US Senate passed Senate Resolution 25 also recognising January 28 as Data Privacy Day.
Over the following years, in response to the growing levels of data breaches and the global significance of data privacy laws, the international Online Trust Alliance (OTA) was formed. The OTA regards Data Privacy Day as an ideal opportunity to encourage governments, businesses, not-for-profits and educational institutions around the world to promote data privacy awareness.
Protecting your digital footprint
In our current climate of digital social networking and the growing proliferation of social media channels, protecting your digital footprint has never been more important. Here are five quick tips to keep your personal data safe.
- Use data encryption – look at the address bar on your web browser. Never disclose personal information on a website that does not have an address that starts with https.
- Lock your smartphone and tablet – this sounds so obvious, but it’s surprising the number of devices, holding very sensitive data, such as online banking apps, that are left unlocked. Create a password and use it.
- Backup your data – whether you use Cloud, external hard-drive or a secure network drive, ensuring your personal data and other business-critical data is securely and regularly backed-up is vital.
- Install updates – Sure, those reminders get annoying, but by installing the most regular software updates, you’re getting the latest bug fixes and security patches that can protect your system from attacks and malware.
- Dispose of old data safely – once you’re finished with a device, wipe all the old data. Likewise, for old fashioned offline data that might be lying around your home or office, shred it or use a secure document destruction company to take care of it.
At iFactory, protecting your data is as important as protecting our own. Our web hosting and support solutions use secure Australian-based servers that offer reliable, responsive service. For more information about how we provide safe, secure and compliant website support services, contact us today.
