Data Privacy Week, organized by the National Cybersecurity Alliance, takes place from January 27 to 31, 2025. As an official Champion of this annual awareness campaign, M3AAWG is committed to amplifying the vital messaging and calls to action this week aims to bring to the forefront.
Data Privacy Week is about guiding people to recognize their right to manage and protect their own data. This sentiment aligns with our organization's vision to create a world free of online abuse.
With education being the cornerstone of prevention, the awareness initiatives charged by Data Privacy Week lay a strong foundation for how to start taking action and spreading the word. This includes privacy measures that can be easily implemented to prevent a potential lifetime of headaches caused by a lack of awareness or inaction. Here are three easy steps you can take to become more mindful of your Data Privacy options (full list of recommendations):
- Understand the tradeoff between privacy and convenience. When downloading apps or creating online accounts, users are almost always required to provide personal information. This data is valuable to businesses, so it's crucial to assess whether the service offered justifies the data you are sharing.
- Adjust privacy settings to your comfort level. Amid our data-driven culture, users can often manage how their data is shared with just a few simple actions. Always check the privacy and security settings for apps, accounts, and devices, and adjust them to limit your data sharing.
- Protect your data. Data privacy and security are closely linked. Some practices for protecting your information can be as simple as creating a long/unique password for each account, enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA), keeping software and devices updated, and recognizing the red flags of a phishing message.
"The term ‘Big Data’ is more than just an ever-present buzzword; it highlights that the value of our personal data has never been higher. With that currency comes a strong appetite from those who simply don’t have your best interests in mind and outright bad actors looking to exploit it,” said Anders Berggren, Vice Chair of M3AAWG’s Data and Identity Protection Committee.
Now is the time to advance a culture of data privacy. We urge businesses, institutions, and individuals everywhere to protect personal information for a safer digital world. As a proud supporter of Data Privacy Week, M3AAWG is dedicated to educating everyone about data protection, as we all have the right to be more selective about sharing our information. Follow our social media platforms for tips on how to stay mindful of data privacy.
“Awareness of the growing number of data abusers and their tactics has never been more critical. This initiative is a timely and vital step in bringing data privacy education to the forefront. I applaud this effort as well as M3AAWG’s ongoing work to champion and support it,” said Priya Shrinivasan, M3AAWG’s Public Policy Committee Vice Chair.