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Privacy by Design Approach Drives Business Success in Today’s Digital Age - Pritam Shah, Global Practice Head – OT Security and Data Security, Inspira Enterprise

Every day we witness the digital world expanding and evolving around us, where data's pivotal role is undeniable. Unprecedented and massive volumes of data are being generated and dynamically transferred between organizations and individuals every minute. where tracing who is accessing and updating databases is a constant challenge. Unfortunately, the exploitation of personal information or data including names, addresses, credit card credentials, identity, or Aadhaar card details of individuals is becoming a nightmare.   Hence safeguarding this personal data is key to data privacy, an aspect of data protection that addresses its collection, storage, access, and usage.  Data privacy is no longer just a regulatory burden but a strategic advantage with organizations that prioritize it and establish a culture of privacy, to achieve ongoing success. 

Businesses that adhere to data privacy practices validate the upkeep of customer data and data privacy, earning them a stronger brand reputation. They should also ensure privacy is embedded in the organization's framework across the technology, products, and services, which is also known as Privacy by Design (PbD). This practice ensures data is protected at every level within the organization, including the development and implementation stages.

Significance of Privacy by Design

The PbD framework was developed by Dr. Ann Cavoukian, Information & Privacy Commissioner of Ontario jointly with the Dutch Data Protection Authority and the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research in 1995.  It aimed to cultivate and embed privacy defenses to safeguard data in the design process of a product, service, or system. Privacy becomes the default setting built at the very beginning rather than an afterthought. This framework is founded on seven core principles: being proactive and not reactive, having privacy as the default setting, having privacy embedded into design, full functionality, end-to-end security, visibility and transparency, and respect for user privacy. 

Privacy by Design Benefits Organizations Economically

The above seven principles offer a framework for implementing PbD best practices.  PbD empowers organizations to build practices that safeguard data across their product offerings and make sure sensitive user data is protected while ensuring regulatory compliance as well.

  •       Establishes a strong brand reputation

Customers share their data with the organizations in the hope that it is handled with care.  In case of any data breach, the organization’s reputation is at stake.  PbD helps prevent such mishaps and demonstrates the organization’s commitment to customer privacy and boosts brand reputation.  Customers' trust is maintained when organizations prioritize privacy.

  •       Data Storage and transmission is secured

PbD principles protect data from unauthorized access when collected, stored, and transmitted across networks.  This can be achieved by encryption of the data at rest and in transit, applying access controls, and conducting regular security audits, thereby stopping cybercriminals from exfiltrating the data.

  •       Better customer engagement with trust built

Customer trust is crucial for any organization to stay ahead of the curve.  The PbD approach which is proactive indicates the company’s commitment to protecting the customer’s sensitive personal information.  PbD enables companies to have personalized engagement with customers while respecting their privacy preferences.  This enhances customer satisfaction and builds long-term loyalty.

  •       Reduction in legal and compliance issues

With PbD there is a significant improvement in the organization’s data security thereby reducing risk that can arise from regulatory fines.  Data breaches and non-compliance issues are less likely to occur establishing a resilient organization that will succeed by overcoming digital complexities.

  •       Improves operational efficiencies and cost reduction

Operational inefficiencies are reduced with PbD as the data management process gets streamlined.  Integrating the PbD principle into new processes, products, and systems at the outset will drive efficient operations.  Organizations can eliminate customer churn and potential non-compliance fines thereby saving huge costs. 

·      Provides a competitive edge

PbD can drive the building of products and services that are user-friendly and secure for businesses.  This also encourages creative thinking, growth, and the establishment of unique revenue streams.  Such organizations are provided a competitive advantage in the market attracting new customers who prefer to work with privacy-focused solutions.

To succeed in the digital era, organizations must prioritize data privacy and security.  Privacy should be embedded into the entire system development cycle, especially now that AI has begun to play a key role in custom software development.  Coding, debugging, and testing tasks are automated due to AI thereby improving the efficiency of software development.  PbD is vital to the future of AI as several solutions leverage unfinished models and are sent at high speed to the market.  Due to rapid innovation, significant privacy concerns are being neglected.  PbD approach should become a standard practice across industries to safeguard an organization’s reputation, customers, and revenues.  In today’s privacy-conscious landscape, PbD is a strategic investment that delivers significant economic advantage to organizations that adopt them.