The Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019, is a vital law that is highly argued, fought, and analysed as India continues a revolutionary journey on numerous fronts (PDP). When passed into law, the bill, in its current form or as a newer ‘avataar,’ is projected to have far-reaching implications for most organisations in the country.
Personal data may be found in common business tools such as laptops, desktops, emails, cloud servers, SAAS providers, software programmes, mobile apps, and even physical papers in today’s enterprises. The introduction of proposed law will need the establishment of appropriate checks and balances inside organisations. From the moment of personal data collection to storage, transmission, and final deletion, these checks and balances will be required.
As a result, it is critical for organisations to maintain strong discipline when it comes to controlling p Businesses and their ecosystems, including vendors and customers, are rapidly embracing digital transformation. As a result, the ecosystem has grown to rely on IT and digital platforms for the majority of its transactions.
In this scenario, corporations acquire, store, and transfer massive amounts of personal data electronically, whether deliberately or inadvertently. While businesses would want to think that their IT landscape is safe thanks to a variety of tools and technology, growing media stories of data breaches, cyber extortion efforts, and unintended data privacy regulation violations suggest otherwise. In many cases, this just means that hackers are one step ahead of the game.
This fact, in light of future privacy laws, is a major source of worry in terms of the checks and balances in place to secure personal data not only on IT systems, but also in day-to-day operations. As a result, data privacy is not just a major worry for CIOs and CISOs, but also a crucial compliance obligation that will have an influence on CEOs, COOs, and CFOs on a day-to-day basis. For operational reasons, this is becoming a hot issue in boardrooms. This is now a hot subject in the boardrooms of the great majority of Indian and international firms.
Enterprises may construct their data privacy journey and stay on track by adhering to a few key core principles to reduce the risk of non-compliance.
The following are some examples of how privacy affects the business world: Incorporating “privacy by design” principles into commercial operations
The risks that enterprises face in terms of data privacy are numerous and varied. While most firms believe that “privacy risk has a minimal impact on our organisation,” businesses that have experienced data breaches have learned that the consequences of lax compliance lead to a slew of dangers. Direct Business and Financial Risk (e.g., regulatory penalties, libel from impacted parties, Extortion risks [attackers blackmailing corporates on disclosure of breached private data to regulators], Loss of business (customer poaching, Customer churn), and Reputation are some examples of risk categories. (Loss of brand value and trust among investors and business partners.)
Numerous privacy laws across the globe impose monetary fines as a real-world example of financial risk. In the event of GDPR-inspired regulation, this may equate to a proportion of worldwide yearly revenue. A similar concept has been suggested for the PDP bill, and it is likely to be retained in the updated/renewed draughts. Once the bill is passed, any infractions that carry severe fines will have a huge cash flow impact on enterprises’ working capital.
Because of the multiple risks involved, it is critical for top executives and boards of directors to be aware of the strategic consequences of data privacy infractions. These infractions can occur in a variety of business processes and are not limited to one. IT systems.
The most effective method to address this problem is to incorporate data privacy protections into current business policies, processes, and people’s mindsets. In a nutshell, “privacy by design” is the watchword.
To handle the privacy risk, create a rigorous privacy programme.
Organizations must match their internal policies and practises to mandated frameworks in order to comply with privacy rules across the world, including the one planned in India. Various standards must be met under several laws and industry forum frameworks, complicating the compliance process. It is critical for enterprises to develop a unified privacy risk and compliance structure that satisfies the needs of both Indian and international legislations at the same time, guaranteeing accurate compliance in a cost-effective manner.
Maintaining an effective and long-term privacy programme
Data privacy is a never-ending process, not a one-time event. Organizations and their executives must make it a priority to regularly analyse risks, monitor controls, and implement enhancement programmes as part of their “business as usual” to guarantee that new technology and procedures do not compromise their privacy. Ensure that new technology and procedures do not jeopardise the privacy framework.
When an organisation reaches the point where “Data privacy is a state of mind,” it has achieved data privacy success. To do this, the business must guarantee that the duty for upholding data privacy standards is shared by all CXOs, employees, contractors, and eco system partners, not simply the IT team and the data privacy organisation.
