In today’s world of identity thieves and hackers, there’s the underlying need for every government and business/commercial organisation to have data protection and security and privacy training. Fortunately, organisations and businesses today have more access to data protection courses and Personal Data Protection Act or PDPA certifications.
In addition, PDPA certifications are also designed so organisations can comply and remain compliant to the Personal Data Protection Act. A PDPA certification is also aimed to help employees involved in data protection under how personal data can be misused.There are several reasons why data protection training is crucial for organisations.
Benefits of Data Protection Training for Organisations
Data protection training has many benefits. Among the most notable are:
It helps establish organisation policies and programs
It is considered best practice for organisations to have data protection training. It can help ensure employees become aware of the information security strategies of the organisation as well as its data protection goals and objectives. It also helps promote and support the commitment of the management to protect the organisation.
It helps create a secure environment
Data protection training can help promote good information security practices at work. A secure environment can also help ensure the company’s sensitive data are protected. Data protection training can also teach organisations the importance of denying access to unauthorised personnels.
It helps establish a common security posture
A common posture can include:
- Definition of the organisation’s data protection and security and privacy policies that are used to lay the regulatory compliance foundation. It provides standards and commonality among an organisational culture.
- Provision of a starting point for the continuous improvement of data protection practices and programs. This is crucial because threats are also constantly evolving and criminals are adapting to the countermeasures.
- Training of new hires about privacy, security, and data protection threats, concerns, and risks. This is important because new employees may not have any prior knowledge about any risks.
It helps provide a point of contact information
Having a point of contact information in the training programme is crucial so people will know how to react in the event of an emergency response situation. Points of contact can include:
- Incident response team (IRT) – responsible for information security incident response and handling
- Chief information security officer (CISO) – responsible for enterprise procedures and policies
- Privacy officer (PO) – responsible for data protection and privacy procedures, policies, processes, and privacy incident response
It helps identify the different types of sensitive data
In some organisations, there are various types and levels of data sensitivity. Confidential, intellectual, classified, and proprietary data requires a higher level of vigilance as well as stronger protective controls.
Privacy related data also requires quicker reporting and can mean the difference between an organisation surviving or going under in today’s competitive world.
It helps establish identity theft prevention practices
If an organisation handles addresses, dates of birth, social security numbers, medical information, it has a responsibility to protect those data. Data protection training can teach them how to protect data that’s under their care.
Additionally, employees should also share their experience and knowledge with colleagues if they notice security lapses or weaknesses.
It helps protect the organisation’s reputation
Data protection training helps reinforce an organisation’s procedures and efforts to protect data. If not implemented, it can lead to reduced stock value, loss of market share, or public embarrassment. It can also lead to mishandling of personally identifiable information (PII), cyber blackmail, and other security breaches.
