Understanding the data lifecycle is a critical aspect of modern business operations. But personal data shouldn’t be forgotten about once it has been collected and used. Properly storing and securely disposing of information is imperative for maintaining responsible data use throughout the data lifecycle. While greater visibility into the correct handling of personal data in the early stages of the data lifecycle, discovering how to master it the final stages can help protect your organization from potential threats and enhance your data management strategy.
Responsible data management is key
Responsible data management is crucial at every stage of the data lifecycle, particularly in the storage and disposal stages. Mishandling data in the latter stages of the data lifecycle can lead to significant security and privacy risks which can result in breaches, legal penalties, and a loss of consumer trust. By managing data responsibly in the storage and disposal stages, organizations have greater control over how they safeguard sensitive information and reduce risk to data while at rest. It also ensures that data is accurate, accessible, and usable for those who need it, enhancing operational efficiency and decision-making processes.
When managing personal data, it is imperative to have a record of all the activities in the company that use that data. This data and activity map should be evergreen, i.e, up-to-date and comprehensive, to help you understand when personal data has fulfilled its original purpose of collection as well as how long it should be stored based on legal requirements in any given jurisdiction. This will also help you evaluate which data governance and security controls should be in place.
To store or not to store; that is the question
Before deciding how you are going to store your data assets, it is important to first ask yourself if you should be storing them at all. Data stored outside of its originally intended purposes can not only be in violation of privacy and data protection laws but can also pose additional security concerns. Not to mention additional costs.
That is where additional security measures such as encryption become such a vital part of your data management programs. By converting data into a coded format, encryption ensures that even if data is intercepted, it remains unreadable without the proper decryption key. In some instances, Bring Your Own Key (BYOK) can serve as an additional security measure, particularly when sharing personal data across borders. Modern encryption techniques provide robust protection for both stored and transmitted data. Implementing end-to-end encryption can further enhance security by ensuring data remains protected at rest and throughout its lifecycle journey.
It goes without saying, but regular audits and maintenance are essential to maintain data security and integrity and implementing them helps you to ensure you are managing data responsibly as well as creating a paper trail. Audits can identify vulnerabilities, non-compliance issues, and areas for improvement. They should be conducted periodically and whenever significant changes are made to the data infrastructure. Maintenance tasks, such as updating software, patching vulnerabilities, and optimizing storage systems, ensure that data remains secure and accessible over time.
Understanding the importance of secure data disposal
Determining when data is ready for disposal is a highly important step in the data lifecycle, and one that is critical to get right. Simply put, data that is no longer needed for operational, legal, or historical purposes should be marked for disposal. However, recognizing these types of data and ensuring their permanent disposal poses a challenge for organizations. The process often involves reviewing data retention policies and ensuring that data is retained only as long as necessary. Identifying redundant, obsolete, and trivial (ROT) data can help streamline this process.
Disposing of data securely is paramount to minimize privacy and security risks such as unauthorized access to data. It also plays an important part in compliance with legal and regulatory requirements across the world. Different jurisdictions have specific laws governing data retention, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in the United States. Organizations must stay informed about these regulations and implement compliant disposal practices to avoid legal repercussions.
Implementing a responsible data management strategy
Comprehensive data policies and governance controls can provide organizations a framework for responsible data management across a range of teams and stakeholders. Policies can outline rule relating to collection, storage, usage, and disposal, ensuring data is considered and managed correctly at all stages of the lifecycle. Policies should also define roles and responsibilities, establish data classification standards, and set guidelines for data protection and privacy.
For many organizations looking to mature their data management processes, technology will play a crucial role. Tools such as automated data mapping, data discovery, encryption software, and automated auditing systems can enhance efficiency and security. These technologies, along with cross functional collaboration, can help organizations monitor data usage, detect anomalies, and enforce compliance with data policies.
Next steps for responsible use in the data lifecycle
Throughout this blog series we have looked at how organizations can use personal data responsibly at every stage of the data lifecycle. However, there are several different areas of privacy program management at play in any given stage of the data lifecycle and organizations will have different levels of maturity for each. Mapping your current program against the OneTrust Data Privacy Maturity Model, you can highlight the specific actions that can be taken to mature your privacy processes and take a more responsible approach to personal data use.
Learn more about the Data Privacy Maturity Model and take the self-assessment to understand where your current processes sit and the areas of improvement that you can build upon.
