In recent years, with the development of the internet and the widespread adoption of information technology, incidents of privacy breaches and violations have occurred. So, what is privacy risk? Privacy risk refers to the possibility of individuals encountering issues related to the processing of their personal data and the impact that these issues can have once they occur. Privacy risks include, but are not limited to, the lack of appropriate technical safeguards, social media attacks, mobile malware, unauthorized third-party access, negligence due to improper configurations, and failure to update security software in a timely manner. This article draws on various sources and references to provide an overview of privacy risk management from different perspectives. It first reviews the global legislative trends in privacy protection and then discusses the necessity of privacy risk management. The article will also provide a brief analysis of ISO 27701 Privacy Risk Management Standard.
A Review of Global Trends in Privacy Protection Legislation:
In today's society, data security issues such as data misuse, data theft, privacy breaches, and "big data discrimination" have been on the rise. In this context, countries around the world have enacted relevant laws and regulations to strictly regulate and guide data security and privacy protection. Some key privacy laws include:
EU GDPR: The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was officially implemented by the European Union on May 25, 2018. It is a law aimed at protecting the personal privacy and data of EU citizens. It applies to personal data of individuals within EU member states as well as the processing of personal data of EU citizens by companies outside the EU.
US CCPA: Several states in the United States have enacted legislation on data security and privacy protection, with the most notable being the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) passed in June 2018. The CCPA is considered the most stringent and comprehensive personal privacy protection law in the United States and took effect on January 1, 2020.
China CSL: China officially implemented the Cybersecurity Law (CSL) on June 1, 2017. The CSL is the country's fundamental law that regulates cybersecurity management and covers a wide range of content, including network operation security, critical information infrastructure security, and network information security. Worth noting is that the CSL also contains provisions on data security and protection, including personal information, such as Articles 40 to 45.
The Necessity of Privacy Risk Management:
In general, the reasons for non-compliance with privacy protection can be summarized in several aspects:
The consequences of non-compliance with privacy protection highlight the value of privacy risk management: