Why is it Important to Protect Your Customer's Personal Data in Canada

The European Union’s data protection regulation, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), made waves worldwide when it came into effect in 2018. However, the EU was not the first to have a comprehensive data protection law to safeguard citizens’ personal data. The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) is Canada’s equivalent to the GDPR and initially came into effect in 2000. It has since been amended several times to keep it practical and relevant with today’s constantly changing digital landscape and is expected to be replaced soon by the Consumer Privacy Protection Act (CPPA).

One of the statutes under PIPEDA mentions explicitly that it is the responsibility of private organizations to implement breach of security safeguards to protect customers’ personal data against loss or theft, unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use, or modification.

While government compliance requirements are reason enough to have security and data protection measures in place, several other solid reasons why it is beneficial for your organization to take data protection very seriously, the following are some of the key reasons to protect your customers’ personal data, as suggested by the security experts at PacketLabs.

1. Protecting customers’ personal data equals securing customer trust

Guarding your customer’s information provides many benefits. Not only will you comply with government regulations, but you will also gain the confidence of your customers. Customer trust goes a long way in securing the future of any organization by way of customer retention.

2. Strengthen the brand value of your business and protect its image

Data breaches have a direct correlation with the loss of brand value and brand reputation of a company. Brands that strongly believe in protecting their customers’ personal data and explicitly communicate their strong data privacy values to their customers often rate high on brand value. Naturally, bold claims need to be backed by actions, which requires a solid commitment to preventing data loss and theft.

3. A strong privacy policy can give you the edge over your competition.

In today’s digitally connected world, every individual has an “online presence, “ whether intentional or unintentional. While it is almost unavoidable for an individual to “leave behind a piece of themselves,” so to speak, in the digital world, it is always reassuring for a customer to know that a company handling their private information is taking all the necessary measures to keep their customers’ personal data protected. By maintaining effective data security measures and demonstrating your ability to shield private information from cyber threats, you effectively retain customers and possibly gain more customers as your good reputation precedes you.

4. Business continuity is strongly dependent on data security

The phrase “data is the new oil” is liberally used in various contexts but rightly so. Data is the most valuable asset of your organization, and its loss can be detrimental to growth or, in the worst case, it could result in the collapse of a business.

Taking precautions to protect your data and your customer’s data is in your company’s best interest. By taking even reasonable precautions to keep your data protected, you significantly reduce the chances of data theft and data loss and, in turn, deter the threat of business continuity.

5. It is the right thing to do

Doing everything in your power to protect your customers’ privacy and safeguard their data is just the right thing to do. While governments have privacy policies in place, you can always set the right example in the industry by going a step ahead by having your own ethics policy that enshrines data and privacy protection.

Take the right step towards data security and privacy protection

When you protect your customer’s personal data, you protect your organization. By safeguarding customer privacy, you can protect your brand and market value, your reputation and protect yourself from costly lawsuits.

While you may already have cybersecurity measures in place, there is a way to increase your confidence in the safety of your IT systems and avoid potentially risky loopholes that cybercriminals could exploit.

Penetration testing is a security measure that involves performing a consented cyber-attack on your IT assets. Also called pen testing and commonly known as ethical hacking, penetration testing simulates an actual cyber attack to figure out potential backdoors and vulnerabilities, which a real hacker could exploit to gain access to your systems.

At PacketLabs, our trained and certified ethical hackers conduct a thorough evaluation of your IT assets and deliver a detailed penetration test report outlining our findings, coupled with prescriptive recommendations to enhance the security within the environment. Through root-cause analysis, our experts will provide you with tactical and strategic guidance to overcome the weaknesses in your system.

To learn more about what sets our penetration testing service apart from a regular VA scan, write to us at info@packetlabs.net. You can also request a free quote, and we will reach out to you within 48 hours.