Data Privacy Day is observed on the 28th of January, 2024. Over the past year, data breaches and privacy concerns have become increasingly prevalent due to the rise in ransomware attacks, deepfakes, and phishing scams. There’s a growing need for experts to shed light on the complexities and challenges individuals and enterprises face in safeguarding their personal information.
While governments around the globe push to enact data protection laws, Data Privacy Day cautions that today’s cybersecurity landscape poses one of the most significant threats to privacy. This is true for organizations of all sizes that are responsible for safeguarding important data in the face of innovative threat actors and an increasingly regulated environment. Protecting against data breaches is especially challenging today, when identity-based attacks are some of the most commonly employed and hardest to detect. In fact, 80% of cyber incidents involve the misuse of valid credentials to access an organization’s network. Identity is a critical threat vector that companies must address as they build their data privacy plans. This means that privacy compliance now requires defenders to pay attention to how adversaries infiltrate organizations and to assess whether they are prepared to defend against those types of attacks. This includes asking whether there is adequate visibility into security events, credentials, and data flows.
“In today’s data-driven business environment, the extensive dependence on data, along with its versatile and valuable applications, makes it an attractive target for cybercriminals.” Shuja Mirza, Director of Solutions Engineering, NetApp India
Said, Drew Bagley, VP & Counsel Cyber Policy and Privacy, CrowdStrike, “Data Privacy Day is also a reminder that aligning privacy and cybersecurity strategies is especially critical as generative AI tools continue to span enterprises.”
With every ground-breaking technology, there are new opportunities and risks organizations must be aware of and should anticipate. Notably, responsible AI can be a game-changer in protecting data against breaches. However, AI that lacks privacy-by-design can introduce risk. In parallel with emerging regulations, it is imperative that organizations have visibility into the types of generative AI being introduced into their environments and an understanding of the use cases. Effective data protection today combines content with context to get a real-time understanding of what data – if any – is being shared with third-party entities and what protections are in place to prevent unauthorized data exposure.
“Identity is a critical threat vector that companies must address as they build their data privacy plans.”
Drew Bagley, VP & Counsel Cyber Policy and Privacy, CrowdStrike
Shuja Mirza, Director of Solutions Engineering, NetApp India, added, “In today’s data-driven business environment, the extensive dependence on data, along with its versatile and valuable applications, makes it an attractive target for cybercriminals.”
In an era where adoption of advanced technologies like AI is on the rise, enterprises are grappling with concerns surrounding massive data collection, privacy, and security. Businesses, now more than ever, need to deploy data privacy tools to navigate these challenges effectively. And hence, data privacy is a crucial aspect for us when it comes to processes and product offerings – that is, both internally and externally.
“The need of the hour is a comprehensive and preventive approach to data privacy and data protection, including solutions that have built-in features that protect and secure primary data. All through data storage and management strategies, data privacy must be non-negotiable,” added, Shuja.
“Data privacy is every business’ top priority, as we move into an increasingly digital and connected world.” Ripu Bajwa, Director and General Manager, Data Protection Solutions, Dell Technologies India
Added, Ripu Bajwa, Director and General Manager, Data Protection Solutions, Dell Technologies India, “Data privacy is every business’ top priority, as we move into an increasingly digital and connected world. This necessitates the need to protect our data from any potential cyber threats.”
Data Privacy Day is a reminder to pay attention towards safeguarding personal information in our interconnected digital lives. Need of the hour for organizations is to ensure effective cybersecurity measures are in place, as it’s becoming even more important in the times of digital transformation, cloud computing and remote work expansion. Organizations need to implement a holistic approach towards developing and implementing robust cyber security and data protection strategies.
With the continuous rise in cyber threats and organizations increasingly turning to public cloud solutions, hybrid working models and generative AI, the risk of cybersecurity has only heightened globally as well as in India. The recent Dell 2024 GDPI research report has spotlighted serious concerns on cybersecurity, where customers are worried about their existing data protection measures more than ever. As per the GDPI report, 64% of the organizations in India are confident against the data protection measures adopted by them to safeguard their existing data needs. Additionally, 27% of the organizations in India are adopting Zero trust strategy to safeguard their IT infrastructure.
“As we prepare to combat evolving cyber threats, DigiCert stands as a trusted partner for organizations of all sizes, fortifying the foundations of Digital Trust.” Anant Deshpande, DigiCert – Regional Vice President, India & SAARC
Anant Deshpande, DigiCert – Regional Vice President, India & SAARC said, “In the era of digital transformation, information is the currency of progress. In the current landscape, securing sensitive data is not merely a compliance measure but a strategic imperative for any organization. As we prepare to combat evolving cyber threats, DigiCert stands as a trusted partner for organizations of all sizes, fortifying the foundations of Digital Trust. We work towards integrating future-ready security frameworks for Indian businesses. We also highlight how the foundation of data protection is not just about safeguarding information; it is about empowering entities to unleash their full potential securely.”
Data Privacy Day serves as a reminder of the paramount importance of Digital Trust. As we celebrate Data Privacy Day, let us recognize that Digital Trust is the cornerstone of progress. DigiCert, with its unwavering commitment to security, paves the way for Indian businesses to not just survive, but thrive in the digital realm.
