Data Privacy and What it Means for Your SMB

January 28 marks the 14^th annual International Data Privacy Day, that seeks to raise awareness about the importance of privacy, highlight easy ways to protect personal information and reminds organizations about the importance of data privacy. It is critical for businesses to be transparent about the data they collect and create a culture of privacy within their organization.

According to a recent study by Accenture, 68% of businesses believe their cybersecurity risks are increasing. With recent data breach incidents impacting millions of consumers within U.S., data privacy and security are top of mind with small and medium size businesses (SMBs).

Here at TriNet, we work daily to ensure that any data entrusted to us is properly safeguarded. In doing so, we seek to promote best practices for how our Colleagues can work together to support our data privacy objectives. It’s not too late for SMBs to follow best practices, such as:

Being transparent about how you collect, use and share personal information.

One of the best ways to establish trust in data privacy practices is to be open about how you handle personal information. You should explain what information you collect and why, how you use it, and how you share in your privacy policy. You can view our Privacy Policy that illustrates how we collect, share and use personal information

Personal information is valuable, you should protect it as such.

The data entrusted to you not only carries with it a monetary value, but also a reputational value that is directly impacted by how you handle the data. Knowing this, TriNet has established comprehensive information security measures, policies and standards that serve to protect the data of our customers.

Protecting data and promoting effective privacy practices is integral to the services TriNet provides. On this Data Privacy Day, we recommend you evaluate your own personal privacy. Below are some of the many steps you can take to ensure you protect yourself:

• Never provide personal information over the phone, email, or text
• Do not use unsecured WiFi
• Keep your software up to date
• Always use strong password phrases
• When you get any new device, set your privacy settings immediately
• Do not take online quizzes that ask random questions about your childhood, children, tattoos, marriages, pets, and favorite foods.
• Change passwords regularly and especially when your accounts may have been compromised
• Never click on links in emails from an unknown sender

A data breach can put the business at a reputation risk, cause business disruption and lead to significant revenue loss. In 2020, on average the cost of data breaches within the U.S. was approximately $3.86 million and it took 280 days on average to identify and contain a breach. These are sobering statistics that SMBs and consumers don’t want to see increase.

View our latest webinar on Why Privacy is Important to Your Business and learn how you can protect your data.

Protecting the privacy of our customers’ personal data is one of our highest priorities. To learn about our privacy practice, click here.