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Today, Monday 28 January 2019, we celebrate Data Protection Day 2019!
What is Data Protection, and why is Data Protection Day so important?
Data Protection is the way in which information is safeguarded from being lost, stolen or corrupted. The Data Protection Act (DPA) is a law designed to protect personal data stored on computers or in an organised paper filing system.
This awareness day gives us the opportunity to bring governments and Data Protection bodies together to raise awareness of what rights we have relating to our personal data and privacy.
In May 2018, the mutually agreed General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force which was designed to modernise laws that protect our personal information. The law also boosts the rights of individuals, and giving us more control over the information that is kept about us.
Types of personal data
Data and information stored on a computer such as pay, bank details, and medical records are personal and at all times must be kept confidential. If someone who is not entitled to see these details can obtain access without permission it is deemed as unauthorised access. The Data Protection Act sets up rules to prevent this happening, protecting your Personal data and Sensitive personal data.
Personal data includes:
- name
- address
- medical details
- banking details
Sensitive personal data includes:
- racial or ethnic origin
- political opinions
- religion
- membership of a trade union
- health
- criminal activity
How can you protect your personal data?
We have a range of tips for you to ensure all of your personal data is being protected by you as much as possible:
- Make sure work and personal electronic devices are password protected in the event of a device being lost or stolen
- Never keep your login username and password information together
- When doing an online transaction, consider who is collecting the information? is it necessary? what will be done with it? what are the consequences for me?
- Do not share too much personal information in terms of you full name, full address, date of birth, telephone number, national insurance number, school or workplace, birthplace and previous addresses
- Do not open emails or attachments you are not expecting or look suspicious
- Unsubscribe or “opt out” of marketing and advertising you do not wish to see or receive
- Ensure your internet browser e.g. Internet Explorer, Chrome, FireFox or Safari – have tools to protect your personal information
- On social networking sites, look at the privacy settings offered to limit what information is made public, adjust your own profile in privacy settings to only share information about your family and friends with those you know well
- Think before you post – who will see your pictures or messages?
- Use strong passwords and usernames to prevent hacking
For more tips and advice, visit: https://ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/online/
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