Sensitive Data — This is all information that, if it falls into the wrong hands, could result in a major headache for people or organizations. This kind of data needs to be handled carefully and protected so that no one else can access it or use this information without the appropriate consent.
Types of Sensitive Data
Sensitive data could be just about anything, but some common types of sensitive data include:
Identifiable Information: PII (Names, addresses, social security numbers, driver’s license number, passport ID financial account and data com pose of all personal information ).
Protected Health Information (PHI) — Medical records, insurance info, genetic particulars etc.
This includes business plans, customer lists, research data and so.
Unlike Wikileaks, it does not handle government secrets and confidential information related to national security which is part of the work done.
Associated risks of sensitive data breaches
When it comes to sensitive data breaches, the implications can be significant.
Identity Theft: An individual can use personal details stolen to enrol a person or cash account.
Monetary Loss – A financial data breach can lead to huge monetary losses for individuals and businesses.
Harm to the Reputation: Data breaches can harm a businesss reputation by not only leading customers to cease their transactions with an organization, but worse yet sue it for neglect of duty.
Compensation (PAYEL) may be received by an organization because it needs to protect sensitive data, otherwise the organization would face legal penalties.
Protecting Sensitive Data
To safeguard this, organizations and individuals should:UIDataMemberEncryption
Use strong access controls, only allow authorized personnel to have access sensitive data.
Data Encryption– Encrypt sensitive data so it is unreadable to anyone other than authorized users.
Frequent Security Audits — It should undergo security audits on a regular basis in order to identify and patch vulnerabilities.
Internal Training: Train your staff on the security and importance of data protection.
Incident Response Plan: Better prepare for ensuring data breaches that occur are responded to quickly.
In these cases, data minimization is key: ONLY collect and keep the minimum amount of personal information necessary.
Data Retention Rules – Deciding the period of time for saving all your personal health information on our application, how to delete it and etc.
An Important Note on Secure Data Disposal: Invalidate old sensitive information so it immediately cannot be misused by untrusted sources.