In fact, according to a recent survey by Pew Research Center, a majority of Americans think their personal data is less secure now than five years ago and that data collection by businesses and government poses more risks than benefits. Yet while these concerns increase, few people understand what is being done with the data that is collected and how it is used and shared by businesses, which can monitor, store and sell the data for profit. That is why the theme of Data Privacy Day 2020 is “Own Your Privacy.” 

Data Privacy Day helps consumers understand the value of their personal data and why it is collected and used. The National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA), which leads Data Privacy Day, encourages consumers to view and change their privacy or security settings on popular devices and online services. You can review the privacy settings for some common tech companies by clicking here. Data Privacy Day also encourages businesses to be transparent about the data it collects and to create a culture of privacy in their organization by educating employees on the importance of protecting consumer and employee information as well as the role they play in keeping it safe.

To celebrate the 13th annual Data Privacy Day on January 28, NCSA and a range of privacy experts will be ’Live from LinkedIn’ for the third consecutive year in San Francisco. This year’s event, titled “Data Privacy Day 2020: A Vision for the Future,” will bring together data privacy experts from industry, government, and non-profit for a morning of TED-style talks and panels on global and national data privacy regulations. Click here to join the live stream. 

“With new privacy legislation going to effect this year, Data Privacy Day 2020 couldn’t be a more timely opportunity for helping businesses and consumers understand the importance of respecting and protecting personal information,” said Kelvin Coleman, executive director of NCSA. “With the amount of consumer data collected and stored online, Data Privacy Day encourages businesses to improve data privacy and security practices and educate consumers about the many ways they can make their personal information more private.”

Advice for Consumers: Tips to Help Protect Your Privacy

• Personal info is like money: Value it. Protect it. Information about you, such as your purchase history or location, has value – just like money. Be thoughtful about who gets that information and how it’s collected through apps and websites. You should delete unused apps, keep others current and review app permissions.

• Share with care. Think before posting about yourself and others online. Consider what it reveals, who might see it and how it could be perceived now and in the future.

• Own your online presence. Set the privacy and security settings on websites and apps 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.

• Think before you act. Information about you, such as the games you like to play, your contacts list, where you shop and your geographic location, has tremendous value. Be thoughtful about who gets that information and understand how it’s collected through websites and apps.

Advice for Organizations: Privacy is Good for Business

• Privacy is everyone’s business: If you collect it, protect it. Follow reasonable security measures to keep individuals’ personal information safe from inappropriate and unauthorized access. 

• Transparency builds trust. 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. 

• Build trust by doing what you say you will do. Communicate clearly and concisely to the public what privacy means to your organization and the steps you take to achieve and maintain privacy. 

• Conduct due diligence and maintain oversight of partners and vendors. If someone provides services on your behalf, you are also responsible for how they collect and use your consumers’ personal information.

Join In and Support the Greater Effort

NCSA encourages everyone to do their part to promote a culture of privacy. Here’s how you can get involved this Data Privacy Day and year-round:

• Become a Data Privacy Day Champion: Individuals and companies can get involved and actively show their dedication to respecting privacy, safeguarding data and enabling trust. Champions receive a toolkit of privacy awareness materials that they can use to educate themselves, their colleagues and communities. Becoming a Champion is easy and does not require any financial support.

• 5 Ways to Help Employees Be Privacy Aware: This tip sheet shares ideas to help promote awareness about the importance of respecting privacy, safeguarding data and enabling trust throughout the workplace.

• Join the conversation on social media: Using the hashtag #PrivacyAware, share the importance of data privacy for your family, community and workplace. Empower others to protect their personal online data by tweeting, “I am #PrivacyAware, are you?  Find out at https://stagestaysafe.wpengine.com/data-privacy-day/.” Download our social media posts and graphics.

• Twitter chats: Join NCSA’s three Twitter chats on data privacy. For more information click here.

  • January 24: “Data Privacy Day 2020 is coming: How do you stay #PrivacyAware all year long?”

  • January 27: “Privacy legislation is coming – what does that mean for you?” (For small- and medium-sized businesses)

  • February 11: “How do you stay #PrivacyAware in an age of oversharing?”

• Own your online presence: Talk to your family and friends about protecting personal information and how to stay safe online. Get started with our Privacy Tips for Parents.

• Share your privacy knowledge: Volunteer in a local school, senior care facility or faith-based organization, send messages on community lists and share NCSA’s privacy resources to spread the word.

• Attend a Data Privacy Day event: Promote your event or see what Data Privacy Day activities are taking place in your area.

Resources

CyberSecure My Business™ is a national program helping small and medium-sized businesses learn to be safer and more secure online. The program is a series of in-person, highly interactive and easy-to-understand workshops based on the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework.

Cybersecurity Awareness Toolkit: The National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA), Facebook and MediaPRO have joined forces to develop an easy-to-use cybersecurity guide with a breadth of helpful resources to help launch your own cybersecurity awareness program. The materials are all free and address both opportunities and challenges that SMBs face each day.

Protect Your Customers: NCSA and the U.S. Small Business Administration have teamed up to create this helpful tip sheet.

Promote data privacy best practices with MediaPRO’s free downloadable data privacy toolkit. Bite-sized and easy-to-consume, the resources in the toolkit will help organizations drive home the value that should be placed on personal data with colleagues, coworkers, and employees. 

OneTrust is dedicated to helping companies with a holistic approach to compliance with hundreds of global privacy laws and regulations. With enforcement of the California Consumer Privacy Act expected to begin in July 2020, the OneTrust platform is a complete solution to implement compliance and sets organizations on the right trajectory for supporting a global privacy program. 

For Data Privacy Day 2020, Integris Software is offering access to its Data Privacy Maturity Study, a survey and analysis of the technical and organizational data privacy practices of 258 mid and large US enterprises. As companies develop their own privacy management programs it’s helpful for them to understand the privacy budgets, organizational dynamics, and key technologies of leading US enterprises.

For a Data Privacy Day media kit, click here. 

About Data Privacy Day

The National Cyber Security Alliance’s (NCSA) privacy awareness campaign is an integral component of STOP. THINK. CONNECT.™ — the global online safety, security and privacy campaign. Data Privacy Day began in the United States and Canada in January 2008 as an extension of the Data Protection Day celebration in Europe and is officially led by NCSA in North America. VISA, Microsoft and Integris are “Contributing Sponsors” of the 2020 privacy awareness campaign. TrendMicro, 3M, Knowbe4 and Yubico, are “Global Sponsors.” ITSP Magazine is an “Event Partner.” The hashtag for NCSA’s privacy campaign efforts is #PrivacyAware.

About the National Cyber Security Alliance

NCSA is the nation’s leading nonprofit, public-private partnership promoting cybersecurity and privacy education and awareness. NCSA works with a broad array of stakeholders in government, industry and civil society. NCSA’s primary partners are the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and NCSA’s Board of Directors, which includes representatives from ADP; American Express; Bank of America; Cofense; Comcast Corporation; Eli Lilly and Company; ESET North America; Facebook; Google; Intel Corporation; Lenovo; LogMeIn, Inc., Marriott International; Mastercard; Microsoft Corporation; Mimecast; NortonLifeLock; Proofpoint; Raytheon; Trend Micro, Inc.; Uber: U.S. Bank; Visa and Wells Fargo.

NCSA’s core efforts include National Cyber Security Awareness Month (October); Data Privacy Day (Jan. 28); and CyberSecure My Business™. For more information on NCSA, please visit https://stagestaysafe.wpengine.com/about/