Companies, customers, employees, and other stakeholders are still vulnerable to data breaches without effective and efficient cybersecurity management systems. Data privacy refers to the protection of data against unauthorized access, theft, and loss.
Acronis’s most recent cyber trends and threats report for the second quarter of 2022 shows that cybercrime victims have increased in South Africa from 14.1 per million Internet users in 2019 to 50.8 in 2020. According to IBM and Ponemon Institute reports, the average cost for a data breach was US 4.35 million in 2022.
This staggering figure is due to a variety of cost implications. These include legal fees, regulatory auditing, brand loss, business interruption, turnover failure, and employee productivity increase.
Top 5 Data Privacy Trends
A data breach can cause irreparable damage to the public and stakeholder trust. Businesses need to use a dual-pronged approach in light of the severity of this problem.
First, companies must urgently update and upgrade cybersecurity systems to keep up with cybercrime developments. This is part of a consistent and ongoing ‘cyber hygiene.’
Business leaders must adopt a proactive approach to enhancing their defenses, staying abreast with industry developments, and anticipating potential threats.
These five data protection trends will be the most important for the industry in the coming year.
#1. More emphasis on privacy in design
Privacy policies and processes used to be considered in the post-development phase of product development. Companies are becoming more aware that privacy is not something to be left out of the development phase.
It can have a massive impact on the future of your business if privacy is addressed early in the development of products and services.
This shift towards “privacy through the design,” which incorporates user privacy in every stage of the development process, is expected to become a standard practice by 2023.
Related: How To Leverage Pentesting Effectively?
#2. Privacy-focused tech
There will be an increase in the demand for privacy-focused technologies as consumers become more concerned about online privacy.
Examples include secure messaging apps, browsers, virtual private networks (VPNs), and encrypted email services.
These tools could be better. Organizations must be vigilant and do their due diligence regularly to protect their data.
Read: Top Five Cybersecurity Trends
#3. Increased regulations
Global governments are becoming more aware of the seriousness and importance of cybercrime and growing more concerned about data privacy.
There has been an increase in regulations and restrictions on data privacy and protection since the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was ratified in 2018 by the European Union.
This trend will likely continue as more countries follow the lead and join forces against cyber criminals. For example, the United States is considering a federal law on data privacy similar to the GDPR.
Canada, Australia, and Japan have all introduced or are working to raise data privacy laws. Companies must adopt stricter data privacy policies to comply with these regulations and protect customers’ personal information.
Read: Top 5 Cybersecurity Risks for Business
#4. Greater transparency
A growing awareness about the importance of protecting personal data and the need to hold organizations accountable for data collection and usage is driving the trend toward transparency in data privacy.
Organizations will be more transparent in 2023 by giving people more control over their personal information and its use.
Individuals can correct, delete, or access their personal data and opt out of specific data collection. This will create trust between consumers and businesses and foster mutual cooperation and accountability.
Read: Best ways to increase Cyber Company Security
#5. Goodbye cookies
Third-party cookies will become less critical as first-party data grows in importance and consumers are more aware of their data. Many organizations and companies are working towards a cookie-free future.
They have implemented new technologies, tracked and targeted users, and set up new technology. Some companies are looking into browser fingerprints, unique identifiers that can track users without cookies.
Privacy-enhancing technologies are also being used by other companies to track users more confidentially and securely.
