This week marks Privacy Awareness Week 2020, an initiative by The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC). It aims to highlight the importance of protecting personal information and to help organisations and employees across Australia navigate the privacy landscape.
The theme for Privacy Awareness Week 2020 is “Ctrl+Alt+Delete and reboot your privacy.”
“This year’s focus on protecting personal information online is particularly relevant as even more of our activity and interactions move online during the COVID-19 outbreak, for work, school and keeping in touch with family and friends,” Australian Information Commissioner and Privacy Commissioner Angelene Falk said in a press release.
“For businesses and Australian Government agencies, it serves as an important reminder to check the right controls are in place and to build in privacy by design.”
With our focus on email security to keep businesses, their employees and their data safe from cybercrime, MailGuard is a natural supporter of the PAW initiative.
The focus on privacy obligations and how we use, share and store personal information is quite timely. Recently, concerns about data privacy have been in the news with the launch of the COVIDSafe app by the Australian Government, as well as reports last month of unsolicited data mining within videoconferencing apps like Zoom. With millions turning to remote working and signing up for cheap and free videoconferencing services, the Australian Signals Directorate issued an urgent warning to businesses over the use of insecure videoconferencing apps. PAW also overlaps with World Password Day (WPD), which is an annual reminder for organisations and users to re-assess their password hygiene in order to keep their data and devices secure from cyber-threats. Unfortunately, a newly-released survey from LastPass marking WPD has revealed that a majority of users (66%) are still not protecting their data from cybersecurity risks even though 91% stated they know they should.
MailGuard urges all businesses to take this opportunity to reflect on their data privacy practices – specifically with regards to email confidentiality and security. It is vital that businesses think smarter and safer about privacy and the data that’s in their custody.
To mark PAW 2020, the OAIC has launched new resources for Australian businesses. These include:
- Privacy guidance for employers to help keep workplaces safe and handle personal information appropriately during the COIVID-19 outbreak
- Advice to help regulated entities assess the privacy risks involved in changed working environments, and
- 10 steps to a privacy impact assessment
Together, let’s play our part and renew our efforts in respecting and protecting personal information online.
