A Common Access Card, with personal data redacted. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Business will need someone to help them deal with the increased risks associated with using personal data. They need someone who can help them exploit the business opportunities of personal data and assure customers, and employees, about their privacy concerns. The risks around personal data and customer privacy have increased. From the data breach at Target to Heartbleed across all industries, people are worried about how their personal data is being used. The NSA revelations woke many people up to the threats and made it a major concern for citizens, customers and employees. The public are concerned about the privacy impact of the ways in which businesses and governments use their personal data. If their personal data is being used as a commodity, how will it affect them? They know that companies want to profit from services and products that use personal, but that has serious risks for their privacy. To adapt to these new risks, and opportunities, companies need a privacy strategist.
You need more than data protection training
A privacy strategist will understand how the use or misuse of personal data will affect a company. If they work with government, they will also understand how the privacy of clients and employees is affected by the use or misuse of personal data. Data protection Act. They combine the following skills and knowledge areas as they relate to privacy as well the opportunities and risk with personal data.
- Information Management: understanding the lifecycle of information
- Reputation Management: understanding how to manage privacy breaches
- Freedom of Information Act
- Environmental Information Regulations
- Human Rights Act
- Training and presentation skills
Their knowledge of the privacy legislation will be important, but their role is more than a compliance officer or a regulatory expert. They will be able to advise organisations on the opportunities around personal data for products and services. By looking beyond regulatory compliance; the privacy strategist’s work links directly to the company’s business strategy. However, their work is not just about reassuring clients and customers. Their role covers how the company manages the privacy concerns of employees, which means they need to be able to explain and present this material. Like an information rights advocate, they will have a role in explaining the balance between the rights of the employees and the company’s requirements.
Public or Private Sector, you still need a privacy strategist
The strategist can work in private and public sectors because privacy remains constant. Even though governments may use personal data to a different end, they share the same risks and concerns as the private sector. To help the public sector manage those risks and opportunities, a privacy strategist will shape the organisation’s approach to privacy. They can advise on issues from a data breach to improving a policy’s privacy impact. An organisation can reassure clients and customers by show its commitment to privacy with a privacy strategist.
If personal data is the new commodity, then a new type of worker is needed. Can you succeed in the emerging market of personal data without a privacy strategist?
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