Major Data Compliance Standard Which May Affect Your Firm

Currently, all the giant businesses and startups hold more data of the users than ever. Along with gathering all the data there comes a set of responsibilities that is to be followed. Therefore, a company needs proper planning for storage, protection, usage and smart sharing of data.

The recent scandals troubling Social media giant Facebook clearly demonstrates, what can happen if the data is mistreated. Any firm can lose the trust of the users, resulting in huge reputation and revenue loss for the company.

A company can also face financial penalties if not acted carefully and for unethically using the confidential data of the users. Certainly, in the last few years due to increasing complexity relating to data compliance, an enormous amount of data is stored on cloud and servers around the world.

Above all, the rate of the fine which is declared due to data breach is also increasing consequently, making the regulations more strict than ever.

Along with following the general data protection rules that the company must be aware of, there are other industry-specific compliance concerns that are to be taken into account.

GDPR

General Data Protection Regulations is one of the wide-spreading and newest standards which is hard to ignore. It came into force on May 25th 2018 and discussed the set of rules regarding people’s right to know the data used by the company, how the company is using the data, and regulations against the breach of any provision.

Though the act will directly affect Europe based company, Australian firms may also get influenced by this regulation.

The three basic principles that are important for you to know is, minimising the amount of data you hold, obtaining consent, and ensuring the rights of data fields.

As monitoring the flow of information is not easy, thus certain organisation appoints data protection officer who can make the data protection strategy and ensure that the company meets the GDPR requirements.

The Privacy Act of 1988

As the patient’s health data is the most sensitive kind of information that is shared, thus there is a section included in the Australian Privacy Act. This section is designed to provide further protection to safeguard the data of the users who share information on health-related websites.

It is declared by the Australian government that every company is bound to obtain the consent of the individual before collecting any health-related information. On top of that, every health care service provider is obliged to follow the privacy act, concerned to patient’s confidentiality.

It is also illegal for any affected party to opt-out of this rule. Therefore, it is very crucial for small and big health care organisations to understand and follow the terms and conditions of this act.

PCI DSS

The business that is dealing with the financial information of the customers requires to comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. It is important for the company because it sets the rules affecting how companies protect and handle cardholder data such as credit or debit card numbers.

The company must have IT Environment Management Tools that ease the work of data monitoring for better working and security of the user's information

The PCI DSS is not government-mandated rules but it is managed by the industry association. The companies which do not follow these rules can face heavy fines.

Even when the firms use third-party services to handle card payments, it is the responsibility of the merchant to assure the safety of the debit or credit card data whether it is gathered, transmitted or stored. Those companies which have huge customer database will face more strict requirements. Thus, there must be proper planning for meeting the requirements of this standard.

Final Words

There are many rules and regulations which are formed for maintaining the data security of the user’s confidential information.

If a company wants to grow and sustain in the business within this digital world, the security of the user’s personal information is mandatory.

Due to more and more advanced IT Environment Management, it has become flexible for an organization to layout function by keeping the confidentiality of the user’s information in the first place.