In today’s digital age, data plays an enormous role in modern life. People provide their personal information to all kinds of businesses and organizations, which might include name, date of birth, address, financial data and all kinds of other data. This is sensitive and personal information, which is why data protection is so important in modern times.

The Data Protection Act

The Data Protection Act 2018 was established to control the way in which personal information is used by organizations, including businesses and the Government. This is the UK’s implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and outlines rules that must be followed by any person or party that uses personal data. This includes things like making sure that the data is used fairly and lawfully, kept no longer than necessary and handled in a way to protect the information.

Why Companies Need to be Careful

Companies need to be careful with the way in which they use data and not just because of The Data Protection Act. Unfortunately, cybercrime is a major threat that all organizations face in today’s day and age and data loss can have a devastating impact in more ways than one. Data loss can expose confidential information, hamper productivity and cause unrecoverable damage to a company’s reputation that can see them lose customers for good.

The Causes of Data Breaches

It is clear that organizations need to do all that they can to protect data from a legal, ethical and operational standpoint. In order to do this, it is important that organizations know the main causes of data breaches. The most common reason is criminal hacking, which is why businesses need to have strong cybersecurity protection in place. Human error is another common reason with 1 in 5 incidents stemming from an accident made by an employee – this shows the importance of staff training.

Other common reasons for a data breach include social engineering (phishing, pretexting etc.), malware, unauthorized use of data by staff and physical actions (theft of devices or paperwork). Knowing what these main threats are allows businesses to take the necessary action to prevent cybercrime and protect sensitive data.

Seeking Compensation

Unfortunately, not every business takes the necessary action to protect data and this can prove to be costly (literally) for consumers and can change lives. If your data is ever breached, you should look to data protection breach compensation as a way to recover damages and to hold the organization accountable for their actions. This can stop you from suffering the consequences as well as help you to feel vindicated.

Data protection is incredibly important in today’s day and age, yet many organizations do not take the necessary action to protect personal information. This can be devastating for both the individuals and the business, which is why protection is vital and needs to be a priority for any organization.