By Pritam Shah, Global Practice Head – OT Security and Data Security, Inspira Enterprise
Every day we witness the digital world expanding and evolving around us, where data’s pivotal role is undeniable. Unprecedented and massive volumes of data are being generated and dynamically transferred between organisations and individuals every minute. where tracing who is accessing and updating databases is a constant challenge. Unfortunately, the exploitation of personal information or data including names, addresses, credit card credentials, identity, or Aadhaar card details of individuals is becoming a nightmare. Hence safeguarding this personal data is key to data privacy, an aspect of data protection that addresses its collection, storage, access, and usage. Data privacy is no longer just a regulatory burden but a strategic advantage with organisations that prioritise it and establish a culture of privacy, to achieve ongoing success.
Businesses that adhere to data privacy practices validate the upkeep of customer data and data privacy, earning them a stronger brand reputation. They should also ensure privacy is embedded in the organisation’s framework across the technology, products, and services, which is also known as Privacy by Design (PbD). This practice ensures data is protected at every level within the organisation, including the development and implementation stages.
Significance of privacy by design
The PbD framework was developed by Dr. Ann Cavoukian, Information & Privacy Commissioner of Ontario jointly with the Dutch Data Protection Authority and the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research in 1995. It aimed to cultivate and embed privacy defences to safeguard data in the design process of a product, service, or system. Privacy becomes the default setting built at the very beginning rather than an afterthought. This framework is founded on seven core principles: being proactive and not reactive, having privacy as the default setting, having privacy embedded into design, full functionality, end-to-end security, visibility and transparency, and respect for user privacy.
Privacy by design benefits organisations economically
The above seven principles offer a framework for implementing PbD best practices. PbD empowers organisations to build practices that safeguard data across their product offerings and make sure sensitive user data is protected while ensuring regulatory compliance as well.
- Establishes a strong brand reputation
Customers share their data with the organisations in the hope that it is handled with care. In case of any data breach, the organisation’s reputation is at stake. PbD helps prevent such mishaps and demonstrates the organisation’s commitment to customer privacy and boosts brand reputation. Customers’ trust is maintained when organisations prioritise privacy.
- Data Storage and transmission is secured
PbD principles protect data from unauthorised access when collected, stored, and transmitted across networks. This can be achieved by encryption of the data at rest and in transit, applying access controls, and conducting regular security audits, thereby stopping cybercriminals from exfiltrating the data.
- Better customer engagement with trust built
Customer trust is crucial for any organisation to stay ahead of the curve. The PbD approach which is proactive indicates the company’s commitment to protecting the customer’s sensitive personal information. PbD enables companies to have personalised engagement with customers while respecting their privacy preferences. This enhances customer satisfaction and builds long-term loyalty.
- Reduction in legal and compliance issues
With PbD there is a significant improvement in the organisation’s data security thereby reducing risk that can arise from regulatory fines. Data breaches and non-compliance issues are less likely to occur establishing a resilient organisation that will succeed by overcoming digital complexities.
- Improves operational efficiencies and cost reduction
Operational inefficiencies are reduced with PbD as the data management process gets streamlined. Integrating the PbD principle into new processes, products, and systems at the outset will drive efficient operations. Organisations can eliminate customer churn and potential non-compliance fines thereby saving huge costs.
- Provides a competitive edge
PbD can drive the building of products and services that are user-friendly and secure for businesses. This also encourages creative thinking, growth, and the establishment of unique revenue streams. Such organisations are provided a competitive advantage in the market attracting new customers who prefer to work with privacy-focused solutions.
To succeed in the digital era, organisations must prioritise data privacy and security. Privacy should be embedded into the entire system development cycle, especially now that AI has begun to play a key role in custom software development. Coding, debugging, and testing tasks are automated due to AI thereby improving the efficiency of software development. PbD is vital to the future of AI as several solutions leverage unfinished models and are sent at high speed to the market. Due to rapid innovation, significant privacy concerns are being neglected. PbD approach should become a standard practice across industries to safeguard an organisation’s reputation, customers, and revenues. In today’s privacy-conscious landscape, PbD is a strategic investment that delivers significant economic advantage to organisations that adopt them.
