IT Industry experts weigh in on International Data Privacy Day

Prashanth G J, CEO at TechnoBind

“The right to privacy is a fundamental right” – this is the core principle on which the new Indian Personal Data Protection Bill is being drawn up. On this International Data Privacy Day it is important to note that the rapid growth of the Digital Economy cannot happen at the cost of personal privacy of Data. It is important to build a culture of inclusiveness where not only the corporates requesting and storing the personal data but also the citizen needs to be made aware of how to control and safe guard his personal data to ensure his privacy in the digital world. I also hope that the government comes out with programs which help educate the common citizen about his rights as well as educate him as to how to protect his personal Data.”

“We continuously adopt newer technologies and most of them are data-driven. When we have so much data to be exchanged over digital networks and platforms, data privacy becomes more relevant in today’s hyper-connected world than ever. Throughout 2019, cyber-attacks and threat actors have made headlines and no organization wants to be at the center of one.

With the increase in focus on data protection and data privacy policies across the world, on this Data Privacy Day, I would like companies to take an oath to strengthen their security systems, not only to take care of data storage and mining but also managing the huge amount of data generated on a daily basis. Organizations must follow best data privacy practices and basic cyber hygiene to protect data and respect privacy,”

Sriram S, Co-Founder at iValue InfoSolutions

“The nature of attack landscape has transformed to a great extent with the advent of IoT and Smart devices. With more than 75% of people in India now using Mobile for banking and transactions along with social media, strong security systems are all the more imperative. Most organizations in their Digital journey are even more vulnerable while embracing cloud, IoT, mobility, analytics and social media. It is becoming clear that data ethics, privacy, and security need to form an integral part of every organizations and individuals essential day to day need.

Despite having 600,000 digitally skilled employees in India, only a meager 10-12 percent have cyber security skills, while even fewer have data protection and privacy skills. Considering the rising threats of the digital age, organizations need to have a comprehensive GRC architecture in place, to address comprehensively the needs around Governance, Risk and Compliance in the ever evolving Digital Age.”

Shibu Paul, VP – International Sales at Array Networks

“Despite being aware of security, majority of consumers are still alienated from the prevalent dynamism in today’s IT infrastructure. The impact of a data breach to an organization averaged around $1.83 million in India last year. The true extent of the breach and the total period of compromise remain unknown while malicious program remain virtually undetectable. Preventing data breach is of utmost importance, especially in the banking segment where the incentives are significantly higher. New deployments over 5G have opened more opportunities for the hackers as well as IT vendors. The cyber risk management practices and mindsets of yesterday no longer suffice and may actually inhibit innovation. It is incumbent upon CISOs to focus on data privacy as part of their company policy and nurture strong cyber security culture with appropriate levels for governance, prioritization, management focus, and ownership.”