Data Privacy

As a Data Privacy Week Champion, the Delaware SBDC recognizes and supports the principle that all organizations share the responsibility of being conscientious stewards of personal information.

Data Privacy Week is an expanded effort from Data Privacy Day — taking place annually from January 24 – 28 — that generates awareness about the importance of privacy, highlights easy ways to protect personal information and reminds organizations that respecting privacy is good for business. This year, we are encouraging individuals to learn more about how to manage and protect their valuable online data. We are also encouraging businesses to respect customer data and learn about the responsibility they hold for keeping individuals’ personal information safe from unauthorized access and ensuring fair, relevant and legitimate data collection and processing.

What is Data Privacy WeeK?

In 2022, National Cybersecurity Alliance (NCA) has decided to expand the Data Privacy Day campaign into Data Privacy Week, a full week-long initiative. Data Privacy Day began in the United States and Canada in January 2008 as an extension of Data Protection Day in Europe. Data Protection Day commemorates the Jan. 28, 1981 signing of Convention 108, the first legally binding international treaty dealing with privacy and data protection.

Data Privacy Week helps spread awareness about online privacy and educates citizens onhow to manage their personal information and keep it secure. Data Privacy Week also encourages businesses to respect data and be more transparent about how they collect and use customer data.

Why is it Important?

Today we conduct much of our lives on the internet and on our connected devices, yet few people understand that enormous amounts of personal information is collected and shared. This data can be stored indefinitely, and our personal information can be used in both beneficial and unwelcome ways. Even seemingly innocuous information – such asy our favorite restaurants or items you purchase online – can be used to make inferences about your socioeconomic status, preferences and more.

Many companies have the opportunity to monitor their users and customers’ personal behavior and sell the data for profit. In order to make informed decisions and understand the true value of their data, consumers need to understand how it is collected, used, and shared.

Privacy Advice For Individuals

Everything you do online generates data. There’s data about your activities,behaviors, and interests. There’s your personal data, like your social security and driver’s license numbers. And there’s data about the physical you, like health data.

It’s easy to feel a lack of control over the information collected about you.However, there are steps you can take to learn about the types of data you’re generating online, and how it’s collected, shared and used. Consumers are becoming increasingly concerned with data privacy, and companies are realizing this and responding. We encourage consumers to be selective about who they choose to do business with and understand the value of their data.

Understand The Privacy/Convenience Tradeoff
Many accounts ask for access to personal information, such as your geographic location, contacts list, and photo album, before you even use their services.This personal information has tremendous value to businesses and allows some to even offer you their services at little to no cost.

Make informed decisions about whether or not to share your data with certain businesses:
- Considering the amount of personal information they are asking for, and weigh it against the benefits you may receive in return.
- Be thoughtful about who gets that information and wary of apps or services that require access to information that is not required or relevant for the services they are offering.
- Delete unused apps on your internet-connected devices and keep others secure by performing updates.
Manage Your Privacy
Once you have decided to use an app or set up a new account, check the privacy and security settings on web services and apps and set them to your comfort level for information sharing. Each device, application or browser you use will have different features to limit how and with whom you share information.

Get started with NCA’s Manage Your Privacy Settings page to check the settings of social media accounts, retail stores, apps and more.
Protect Your Data
Data privacy and data security go hand in hand. Keep your data secure by:
- Creating long, unique passwords for each account and device.
- Storing passwords in a password manager.
- Performing software and browser updates when they become available.
- Enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA) wherever possible.
  
  DYK: MFA has been found to block 99.9% of automated attacks when enabled and can ensure your data is protected, even in the event of a data breach.

Privacy Advice For Businesses

According to the Pew Research Center, 79% of U.S. adults report being concerned about the way their data is being used by companies. Respecting consumers’ privacy is a smart strategy for inspiring trust and enhancing reputation and growth in your business.

Be open and honest about how you collect, use and share consumers’ personal information. Think about how the consumer may expect their data to be used and design settings to protect their information by default. Communicate clearly and concisely to the public what privacy means to your organization and the steps you take to achieve and maintain privacy.

Conduct An Assessment
Conduct an assessment of your data collection practices. Whether you operate locally, nationally, or globally, understand which privacy laws and regulations apply to your business.
- Follow reasonable security measures to keep individuals’ personal information safe from inappropriate and unauthorized access
- Make sure the personal data you collect is processed in a fair manner and only collected for relevant and legitimate purposes.
- Don’t forget to maintain oversight of partners and vendors as well. If someone provides services on your behalf, you are also responsible for how they collect and use your consumers’ personal information.
Adopt A Privacy Framework
Researching and adopting a privacy framework can help you manage risk and create a culture of privacy in your organization by building privacy into your business. Get started by checking out the following frameworks:
For further understanding of the NIST Framework check out the Delaware SBDC Data Assured Cyber Workbook. It walks a small business though the framework and helps educate on the different areas.
Educate Employees
Create a culture of privacy in your organization by educating your employees of their and your organization’s obligations to protecting personal information.
- Educate employees on your company’s privacy policy
- Teach new employees about their role in your privacy culture during the onboarding process.
- Engage staff by asking them to consider how privacy and data security applies to the work they do on a daily basis. Better security and privacy behaviors at home will translate to better security and privacy practices at work.
- Teach employees how to update their privacy and security settings on work and personal accounts. Learn more.
The Delaware SBDC has a new Phishing Training Program for small businesses that is geared in employee education. It is free for all small businesses, so go check out the Phishing Training Program today!

Privacy Advice For Individuals

Understand The Privacy/Convenience Tradeoff

Many accounts ask for access to personal information, such as your geographic location, contacts list, and photo album, before you even use their services.This personal information has tremendous value to businesses and allows some to even offer you their services at little to no cost.

Make informed decisions about whether or not to share your data with certain businesses:

Considering the amount of personal information they are asking for, and weigh it against the benefits you may receive in return.
Be thoughtful about who gets that information and wary of apps or services that require access to information that is not required or relevant for the services they are offering.
Delete unused apps on your internet-connected devices and keep others secure by performing updates.

Manage Your Privacy

Once you have decided to use an app or set up a new account, check the privacy and security settings on web services and apps and set them to your comfort level for information sharing. Each device, application or browser you use will have different features to limit how and with whom you share information.

Get started with NCA’s Manage Your Privacy Settings page to check the settings of social media accounts, retail stores, apps and more.

Protect Your Data

Data privacy and data security go hand in hand. Keep your data secure by:

Creating long, unique passwords for each account and device.
Storing passwords in a password manager.
Performing software and browser updates when they become available.
Enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA) wherever possible.
- DYK: MFA has been found to block 99.9% of automated attacks when enabled and can ensure your data is protected, even in the event of a data breach.

Privacy Advice For Businesses

Conduct An Assessment

Conduct an assessment of your data collection practices. Whether you operate locally, nationally, or globally, understand which privacy laws and regulations apply to your business.

Follow reasonable security measures to keep individuals’ personal information safe from inappropriate and unauthorized access
Make sure the personal data you collect is processed in a fair manner and only collected for relevant and legitimate purposes.
Don’t forget to maintain oversight of partners and vendors as well. If someone provides services on your behalf, you are also responsible for how they collect and use your consumers’ personal information.

Adopt A Privacy Framework

Researching and adopting a privacy framework can help you manage risk and create a culture of privacy in your organization by building privacy into your business. Get started by checking out the following frameworks:

For further understanding of the NIST Framework check out the Delaware SBDC Data Assured Cyber Workbook. It walks a small business though the framework and helps educate on the different areas.

Educate Employees

Create a culture of privacy in your organization by educating your employees of their and your organization’s obligations to protecting personal information.

Educate employees on your company’s privacy policy
Teach new employees about their role in your privacy culture during the onboarding process.
Engage staff by asking them to consider how privacy and data security applies to the work they do on a daily basis. Better security and privacy behaviors at home will translate to better security and privacy practices at work.
Teach employees how to update their privacy and security settings on work and personal accounts. Learn more.

The Delaware SBDC has a new Phishing Training Program for small businesses that is geared in employee education. It is free for all small businesses, so go check out the Phishing Training Program today!

What is Data Privacy WeeK?

Why is it Important?

Privacy Advice For Individuals

Privacy Advice For Businesses

Understand The Privacy/Convenience Tradeoff

Additional Resources