Data Privacy Week Is Your Opportunity to Put Privacy in the Spotlight

Posted on by Joseph Molloy | Updated:
Home > Blog > Healthcare Business > Data Privacy Week Is Your Opportunity to Put Privacy in the Spotlight

Everyone at Liquid Web wishes you a happy Data Privacy Week!

Nobody wants to think about data privacy all the time while we're using the Internet. That's why Liquid Web has dedicated engineers and hosting experts who work tirelessly to ensure the security of your data and the data of your users.

Regardless, data privacy is not something we should think of only when we hear about the latest major data breach. That’s exactly what Data Privacy Week is for.

What Is It?

Data Privacy Week (previously known as Data Privacy Day) is dedicated to the promotion of best practices in the field of data protection and privacy. It’s hosted by the National Cyber Security Alliance on January 21 - 27 as an effort to increase awareness of privacy issues, how they can influence our lives, and how to help keep confidential information private. 

History of Data Privacy Week

The original goal of Data Privacy Week's educational endeavor was to raise awareness among businesses and consumers about the significance of safeguarding the privacy of their personal data online, especially in relation to social networking. Over time, the instructional focus has shifted to encompass families and companies.

Data Privacy Week helps promote events that inspire the creation of technological tools that promote autonomy over sensitive personal information. It encourages compliance with privacy regulations and laws and generates dialogues between stakeholders who benefit from improving privacy and security.

This international event provides numerous opportunities for cooperation between academia, governments, non-profit organizations, and businesses alike.

On January 28, 1981, the Council of Europe prepared the Convention for Protection of Individuals with Regard to the Automated Processing of Personal Data. This convention is continually being amended to reflect new legal challenges brought forth by technological advancement.

On January 26, 2009, the United States House of Representatives declared January 28th to be National Data Privacy Day. Two days later, the Senate enacted Senate Resolution 25, honoring January 28th as National Data Privacy Day. In 2022, Data Privacy Day became Data Privacy Week.

Liquid Web has employed passionate and knowledgeable engineers and web hosting experts

Get the Technology Right

Privacy is challenging, especially for companies governed by regulatory frameworks such as HIPAA. A majority of privacy breaches occur because businesses do not seek expert assistance with data hosting and developing secure platforms.

Standard web hosting just does not cut it when it comes to HIPAA or PCI compliance. It can expose your company to regulatory compliance violations and put your customers in danger.

To stay in compliance, choose HIPAA-Compliant Hosting or PCI-Compliant Hosting. It's critical to select a hosting solution that's optimal for your data privacy and physical security needs.

Privacy Is About People

We often regard privacy as a purely technological issue. As in, if only we had the correct technology, encryption, and firewalls, we'd all be safe.

But, in the end, privacy is about people. It's about educating individuals about online threats and what they can do to keep themselves and their consumers safe. That's why an effective privacy policy uses training and education as its foundation.

Everyone at a company should be aware of their role in keeping data secure. Employees must understand that opening links in strange emails or storing sensitive data on a USB drive so they can work from home is not a good idea. The name of their pet is not a secure password for a server or application account, either.

A single privacy mistake could have severe ramifications for your company and clients, especially if you deal with legally protected data covered by regulatory frameworks such as HIPAA. That's why Data Privacy Week is an excellent opportunity for organizations to take a positive step forward and make thinking about privacy enjoyable for at least one day.

Privacy Parties

Privacy training can be enjoyable, and not in a way where everyone pretends to be having fun when they'd rather be somewhere else.

For example, you could organize a privacy training game. A company-wide quiz show that allows employees and executives to compete for a prize is a terrific method to make privacy policies more memorable.

Privacy role-playing games can also work well. Act out scenarios in which employees might violate privacy, such as opening a phishing email, visiting a malware-infected website, disclosing confidential information without verifying the recipient's identity, and so on.

Privacy Checklists

When it comes to privacy, there is a lot to keep in mind. Checklists can assist staff in adhering to fundamental privacy protections. We published a comprehensive data privacy checklist that businesses can use to ensure they have the proper safeguards in place.

Know Your Limitations

A typical web stack is quite complicated, spanning numerous layers of hardware and software from networks and servers to a front-end application.

So unless cybersecurity and server management are your primary skills, you should consider outsourcing the operation of your hosting platform. This is especially important when working with sensitive data.

Final Words

Data Privacy Week is a wonderful initiative that can help everyone learn more about the best data security practices. As long as you take the necessary steps to upgrade your technology and educate your workforce, we’re positive that you can prevent the majority of data breaches that threaten today’s companies and individuals.

Liquid Web can help. Our infrastructure is equipped with all the necessary tools to best serve your data privacy, compliance, and security needs. To get the best hosting products with data privacy in mind, take a look at our plans and add-ons, or just jump directly to our HIPAA Compliant Hosting offer.

Avatar for Joseph Molloy
About the Author

Joseph Molloy

Liquid Web Security Operations tech Joseph spends his days cleaning up malware and doing his part to keep the Internet safe. He is interested in all things Linux and always looking for something new to learn. In addition, he enjoys cooking and playing guitar, is an avid horror and sci-fi reader, and is a fan of black metal music.

View All Posts By Joseph Molloy