CS Nov-Dec 2022

data management
YOU AND YOUR DATA ARE THE PRODUCT
WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT FOR BUSINESSES TO UNDERSTAND THE
SENSITIVE DATA THEY ARE WORKING WITH? NICK EVANS, GEOLANG'S
SALES AND MARKETING MANAGER, REVEALS WHAT COULD HAPPEN
BY NOT HAVING A SOLID PLAN
The amount of sensitive data your
business stores is only increasing
in size - and one of your major
responsibilities is managing it. As more
tools are used to manage everyday
business, both on-prem and cloud,
the amount of data being stored is just
getting bigger! While lots of the data
you collect may be completely harmless,
critical, and sensitive information hides
among it, often in plain sight.
Anywhere you have data, you certainly
also have sensitive data. To manage your
sensitive data, you first must discover it.
Solutions like GeoLang's Data Discovery
tool help you to take the first step in
maintaining your increasing amounts of
sensitive data. But why is sensitive data
protection more important than ever?
What are some places your sensitive
data could be hiding?
WHY SHOULD WE PROTECT
OUR SENSITIVE DATA?
There are heavy fines issued in relation
to Sensitive data being leaked through
breaches and it's now vitally important to
protect against any unauthorised access.
With a heightened focus now on data
compliance regulations and the potential
massive damage to your reputation,
intellectual property, efficiency, and
bottom line - if you're not locating and
classifying your data, your organisation
is at risk.
RISE IN PRIVACY REGULATIONS
It is not just the public that cares how
their details and information are being
captured and used by businesses, but a
massive focus from legislators worldwide.
Since 2018 and the creation of Europe's
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
and the California Consumer Privacy Act
(CCPA) in 2020, many businesses have
woken up to the need to manage their
sensitive data better. With more than
100 countries now having their own data
privacy laws, it's a fact that regulations,
like your sensitive data, are increasing all
the time.
The EU GDPR sets a maximum fine of
€20 million (about £18 million) or 4%
of annual global turnover - whichever is
the greater - for businesses that do not
comply with GDPR rules and fines for
violating the CCPA can reach $7,500. With
the evolution and addition of new privacy
laws and regulations, remaining compliant
is a constant challenge.
Sensitive data protection allows you to
sort out the confusion behind data privacy
regulations and effectively deploy your
limited resources so you can focus on
other critical business needs.
YOUR BRAND REPUTATION -
IT'S ALL YOU HAVE GOT!
Your systems, or 'Data Silos', hold extensive
data about your employees, customers,
and others with whom you do business -
in essence, any data that relates to a
person (e.g. Names, home addresses,
payment card information, driving licence
numbers, email addresses and other
personal information).
When collecting information from
people, you accept the responsibility for
protecting their information. Failing to do
so results in severe reputation damage,
but also a potential loss of business. There
are many cases where a business that has
suffered a public data leak has then gone
on to see a decline in sales figures.
BLOW TO CONFIDENCE
This is due to the trust your customers had
in your brand being damaged. The blow
to consumer confidence can affect stock
prices for months or years.
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