Think about displaying your precious jewellery unattended and open in a crowded marketplace. We all know it is frightening and you have lockers for a reason. Similarly, as more social and economic activities go digital, the aspect of data privacy is becoming much more crucial for every individual, owing to the burgeoning number of cyberattacks, spying and fraudulent cases every day. According to recent stats – India ranked 14th globally in terms of the average cost of a data breach in 2022.Also Read – Pakistan Not As Dominant, Our Focus Has Shifted Towards India: British Envoy
In the present digital era, an exacerbating amount of estimated 463 exabytes of data will be produced each day. To protect the privacy rights of individuals, most businesses have begun to participate in the race of addressing operational aspects of handling data and focusing on being compliant with its regulations and law. Keeping these points in mind here are the five important things that everyone should know about data privacy. Also Read – India vs South Africa, 2nd T20I: Indian Batters Toy SA Attack, Post Massive 237/3
Rights of an individual
In the landmark judgment of K.S. Puttaswamy V. Union of India in 2017, the Supreme Court made the “Right to Privacy” a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. This brings into the spotlight the privacy of every individual as their birthright. Also Read – IND vs SA 2nd T20: Snake Crawls Onto The Field, Interrupts Play But Hogs Limelight
In a digitally driven world, an enormous amount of data is exchanged online and sometimes without the consent of individuals. Fraudulent companies can sell it to other companies for making a hefty profit, however by violating the privacy rights of other individuals. It is well said that “Data is the new oil”. But we as a society need to strike the right balance by following our duty.
Responsibility of all
It is the human tendency to take their hand back when it comes to taking responsibility. Data privacy is everyone’s duty as well as responsibility. Government and individual organizations are playing their role. Apart from them, we as an individual must report and bring data breaches to the spotlight.
The data breach is a massive and growing concern in today’s era, and hence as we go deeper into cyberspace data privacy, protection and management become more critical and essential. Therefore, data privacy is the responsibility of all netizens as an individual and even as organizations.
Keeping yourself aware
When personal information is put out to the world wide web, people are unaware of how their information is being used, processed or shared. In the present world of the internet, the imperative is to raise self-awareness about data privacy and adopt best practices to stay secure. As “Prevention is better than Cure”, our privacy is in our hands and being self-aware and cautious while surfing the internet, sharing details online or making any transactions concurs to be a key step in promoting data privacy. People around the globe are vulnerable and victims of data breaches and other cyber crimes, hence spreading awareness and knowledge is the best way to prevent it.
Not similar to data security
It is very common to witness that data privacy is usually misinterpreted as data security. But in the real-world scenario, these two are completely different. On the one hand, Data privacy deals with the rights of individuals, the purpose for the collection of data, access to the data by different entities, and the consent of users for the use of their data.
While on the other, data security is a kind of rulebook with different standards and safeguards that an organization is implementing to protect its data assets. These breaches can be in any form like unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or deletion of the data. Data security is a practice that deals with the prevention of any kind of cyberattacks, fraud, and espionage.
Transparency is important
Transparency is a core principle in data privacy. The system we are working with should be transparent enough so that it is easier for users to understand the accessibility, processing and handling of data in a crystal clear manner. Companies see the collection and storage of customers’ data as their assets for monetary benefits. Having said that, there should be no compromise on data handling with fairness, lawfulness and transparency.
Recently, new privacy law is also enforced i.e., the “Right to be Forgetten” about a person being removed from internet searches. Personal data can be deleted and not used for any other purpose, under any circumstances which prove to be a crucial step in promoting transparency.
Initiative to promote data privacy
Apart from being aware of data privacy, it is also important to understand that it is the need of the hour that we should start implementing the best practices for it. Therefore, Drive 4 CyberPeace as an initiative has been released that brings forward the people’s interpretation of data privacy and protection. How do they feel about their data being breached or monitored, what shortcomings do they see in the data protection regulations, and how it can be improved to the best efficiency.
During the whole process, Drive 4 CyberPeace interacted with students, teachers, professors, dignitaries of the state, and people from different villages, towns, and cities to get their opinion on the matter. As a result, data privacy experts work on deploying robust practices to ensure the safety of customers’ personal information.
– By Major Vineet
(The author is the founder and president of Cyberpeace foundation. Views expressed are personal)