Data Privacy Week

WHAT IS DATA PRIVACY WEEK?

Data Privacy Week is an annual campaign to spread awareness about data privacy and educate individuals on how to secure their personal information. It also emphasizes educating businesses on data collection best practices that respect data privacy and promoting transparency.

The National Cybersecurity Alliance (NCA) expanded the Data Privacy Day into Data Privacy Week because your data is that important! Data Privacy Day began in the United States and Canada in January 2008 as an extension of Data Protection Day celebration in Europe. Data Protection Day commemorates the January 28, 1981 signing of Convention 108, the first legally binding international treaty dealing with privacy and data protection.

The goal of Data Privacy Week is to spread awareness about online privacy. Data privacy should be a priority both for individuals and organizations. The goal is twofold: to help individuals understand that they have the power to manage their data and to help organizations understand why it is important that they respect their users’ data.

TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR DATA

Your online activity creates a treasure trove of data. This data ranges from your interests and purchases to your online behaviors, and it is collected by websites, apps, devices, services, and companies all around the globe. This data can even include information about your physical self, like health data – think about how an app on your phone might count how many steps you take.

You cannot control how each little piece of data about you and your family is collected. However, you still have a right to data privacy. You can help manage your data with a few repeatable behaviors. Your data is valuable and you deserve to have a say!

FAST FACTS:

• • 56% of Americans say they always, almost always, or often click “agree” without reading privacy policies. (Pew Research Center).
  • 47% of consumers are not confident that their personal data, such as social security numbers, health history and financial information, is private and not distributed without their knowledge (Consumer Reports).
  • 94% of businesses say their customers won’t buy from them if their data is not protected (Cisco).
  • Only 29% of consumers said it is easy for them to understand how well a company protects their personal data. (International Association of Privacy Professionals).
  • 46% of data breaches in 2024 involved Personal Identifiable Information (PII) (IBM).

YOU HAVE A SAY IN YOUR DATA PRIVACY

Here are some simple, easy tips you that will help you manage your data privacy:

• 1. KNOW THE TRADEOFF BETWEEN PRIVACY AND CONVENIENCE

  Nowadays, when you download a new app, open a new online account, or join a new social media platform, you will often be asked for access to your personal information before you can even use it!

  For these businesses, this personal information about you is tremendously value — and you should think about if the service you get in return is worth the data you must hand over, even if the service is free.

  Make informed decisions about sharing your data with businesses or services:

  • • Is the service, app, or game worth the amount or type of personal data they want in return?
    • Can you control your data privacy and still use the service?
    • Is the data requested even relevant for the app or service (that is, “why does a Solitaire game need to know all my contacts”)?
    • If you haven’t used an app, service, or account in several months, is it worth keeping around knowing that it might be collecting and sharing your data?
  2. ADJUST PRIVACY SETTINGS TO YOUR COMFORT LEVEL

  For every app, account, or device, check the privacy and security settings. These should be easy to find in a Settings section and should take a few moments to change. Set them to your comfort level for personal information sharing; generally, we think it’s wise to lean on the side of sharing less data, not more.

  You don’t have to do this for every account at once, start small and over time you’ll make a habit of adjusting all your settings to your comfort. We have in-depth, free resources like our Manage Your Privacy Settings page that lets you check the settings of social media accounts, retail stores, apps and more.

  3. PROTECT YOUR DATA

  Data privacy and data security go hand-in-hand. Along with managing your data privacy settings, follow some simple cybersecurity tips to keep it safe. We recommend following the Core 4:

  • • Create long (at least 12 characters), unique passwords for each account and device. Use a password manager to store each password – maintaining dozens of passwords securely is now easier than ever.
    • Turn on multifactor authentication (MFA) wherever it is permitted – this keeps your data safe even if your password is compromised./li>
    • Turn on automatic device, software, and browser updates, or make sure you install updates as soon as they are available.
    • Learn how to identify scam messages, which can be sent as emails, texts, or direct messages.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND RESOURCES ON DATA PRIVACY

• • Consumer Reports: Consumer Reports shares privacy tips, product ratings and news to help consumers protect their privacy.
  • Federal Trade Commission: Privacy and security resources for consumers and businesses.
  • Future of Privacy Forum: The Future of Privacy Forum brings together industry, academics, consumer advocates, and other thought leaders to explore the challenges posed by technological innovation and develop privacy protections, ethical norms, and workable business practices.
  • Mozilla “Privacy Not Included”: With this guide, Mozilla helps you shop for safe, secure devices and presents information on the privacy and security of popular products.
  • National Cybersecurity Alliance (NCA): Online Safety and Privacy Basics Resource
  • Tipsheet: Use Apps and Software to Protect Your Data, courtesy of NCA
  • Tipsheet: Use Respect Privacy, courtesy of NCA
  • Tipsheet: What is Data Privacy and Why Should You Care?, courtesy of NCA
  • Tipsheet: You Have a Say in Your Data Privacy!, courtesy of NCA