By: Mike Bailey
Privacy and Security are designed to protect companies and their customer’s information, but that is where the similarities end. As we look at the two, it will become clear as to how different they really are.
Privacy
Personal Identifiable Information (PII), Private Confidential Information (PCI), Private Health Information (PHI) or the many other terms and acronyms industries have come up with all have the same goal, containing individuals’ information. Let’s look at some key points that need to be in place to protect confidential information.
Confidentiality
Confidentiality policies and procedures are required for businesses to protect sensitive information, maintain trust with stakeholders, comply with regulations, mitigate risks, preserve competitive advantage, facilitate collaboration, and protect the organization’s reputation.
Data Retention
Data retention policies are essential for maintaining regulatory compliance, managing risks, optimizing costs, facilitating efficient data management, protecting privacy, and ensuring readiness for legal proceedings.
Compliance
SOC2, HIPAA, GDPR, and CCPA compliance are not just good practices; they are essential for businesses to thrive in today’s data-driven and highly regulated environment, ensuring data security, legal adherence, customer trust, and competitive advantage.
Workspace Privacy
By ensuring that communications cannot be overheard and computer screens cannot be seen by unauthorized individuals, workspace privacy helps maintain the confidentiality of sensitive information.
Security
Security focuses on protecting personal information by safeguarding systems, networks, and assets from unauthorized access and cyber threats. In a work-from-home environment, additional precautions need to be considered to prevent data breaches, fraud, or other disruptions to operations are necessary.
Multifactor Authentication (MFA)
MFA should be implemented to verify the identity of remote agents accessing company systems and applications.
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
Integrating EDR with antivirus software enhances an organization’s security posture by providing advanced threat detection, rapid response capabilities, improved visibility, proactive threat hunting, and comprehensive forensic analysis. This layered approach helps organizations better defend against a wide range of cyber threats, including advanced and targeted attacks.
Network Security
Utilization of a VPN for your remote workers will keep the remote worker’s data secure as they transmit and receive information from your servers and prevents unauthorized access. Additionally, you can add hardware to assign a specific network address when connected to your VPN and configure your firewall to only allow access from the specific network addresses.
Integrating Privacy and Security
Keeping your data safe while maintaining your employee’s privacy is a delicate balance. You do not want to have too many restrictions in place that prevent your team from working, or too weak that it allows for intrusion.
Collaboration
Promoting a culture that values collaboration and transparent communication empowers employees to voice concerns, solicit guidance, and exchange best practices concerning privacy and security measures.
Policies and Guidelines
Creating policies and guidelines that specifically outline your company’s privacy and security requirements is the first step. You want to ensure that your employees can access what they need to perform their roles and have the autonomy to safely navigate the systems.
Audits and Assessments
Regular audits and assessments play a crucial role in pinpointing vulnerabilities and deficiencies within privacy and security protocols, facilitating prompt rectification and improvements.
In essence, it’s essential to understand the distinctions between privacy and security to enable remote work for employees. By prioritizing both aspects, companies safeguard critical data and maintain operational efficiency, thus fostering the success of employees in their remote roles.
