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They say that complacency is the enemy of progress. This couldn’t be any truer than in the world of data privacy, which is a constantly evolving and dynamic industry. As such, savvy Data Privacy Officers who have undergone DPO certification understand that staying on top of emerging industry trends and insights each year is necessary to protect their organizations.
Here are a few emerging trends that DPOs should be monitoring in 2022:
Consumers are now more aware of their data privacy rights
A Social Weather Stations study, in partnership with the Philippine Data Privacy Commission, showed that 94% of Filipino adults expressed a strong interest in knowing exactly how businesses use the personal data they provide during transactions. Given the sharp increase in online transactions since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, more Filipinos are becoming more invested in their data privacy rights and how their personal data is used. This means that companies must become even more transparent with their data privacy in order to make customers feel safe during online interactions such as transactions, registrations, and the like.
Companies are taking third-party risk management seriously
Many companies choose to work with third-party vendors for their data privacy needs. However, a study by Ponemon Institute showed that almost half of data breaches in the U.S. were third-party breaches. In such cases, the companies that have partnered with these third-party vendors have had to deal with the repercussions, both in terms of cost and brand perception. Given this, Data Privacy Officers and other executives should thoroughly vet and assess their third-party risk management service providers regularly throughout the length of the contract. After all, “it technically wasn’t our fault” is not an excuse consumers affected by a data breach will accept.
Companies are investing in data privacy training for employees
Savvy DPOs are starting to understand that anyone who has access to personal data should have some level of competency in data privacy standards. As such, many companies are going beyond just sending everyone a copy of the corporate data privacy strategy. Forward-thinking organizations are starting to provide basic data privacy training to all employees who handle any form of personal data, regardless of their departments and rank. This is a smart move on their part since data privacy and security are a collective responsibility.