Data Privacy Day: Understanding the Risks of Data Breaches and How to Protect Customer Data

Data Privacy Day is an annual event celebrated on January 28th to raise awareness about the importance of protecting personal information and data privacy. As technology continues to advance and more of our personal information is shared online, it’s crucial for businesses to take steps to safeguard their own data, as well as the data of the customers and users they serve. In this blog, we will explore the current state of data privacy, the risks of data breaches, and the measures businesses can take to protect consumer data. From data masking to compliance with regulations, we’ll walk through the tools and strategies available to keep personal information secure. As we mark Data Privacy Day, let’s recommit ourselves to the protection of consumer data and work toward a safer and more secure digital world.

As consumers entrust businesses with their personal information through the use of apps, services, and stores, the expectation for data security becomes paramount. Whether data is collected online or in-person through loyalty programs or shopping history, it’s important to ensure that this information remains protected. This includes not only meeting the expectations of consumers, but also satisfying regulators, auditors, investors, board members, and partners.

The consequences of data breaches extend far beyond financial penalties. Organizations also run the risk of a lasting negative impact on their business. If a company’s data practices are called into question, it can cost them millions. If they are perceived as not caring enough about customer data security, the company’s reputation can also suffer greatly, leading to headaches of the “negative press coverage” and “lengthy legal proceeding” variety. To mitigate these risks, it’s important to explore solutions like data masking, which can help organizations avoid fines and comply with regulations like GDPR.

Cribl Stream Bridges The Gap Between Data Intelligence And Data Protection

Centralizing logs can provide convenience and ease of access, however, it also creates vulnerabilities by consolidating sensitive information in one location. Attackers can target this information, including network traffic, usernames, API keys, and personal identification numbers. To mitigate this risk, regulations such as GDPR require organizations to take measures to conceal or mask sensitive information.

Cribl Stream acts as a control plane between data sources and destinations, providing flexibility in managing and modifying data without the risk of unexpected outcomes. The platform allows for the creation of pipelines and routes for data processing, with the ability for users to determine the path of data through the system using a user-friendly interface.

One of the key features of Cribl Stream is its ability to mask PII before it is ingested into your analytics tools. This ensures that sensitive information is protected from potential breaches, and compliance with regulations like GDPR is maintained. When teams use Stream to mask PII, it allows them to achieve a balance between getting the most value out of that data and keeping it safe and secure.

That said, PII that can be masked shouldn’t just stop at just name, social security number, or address. Because the definition of PII can vary depending on the jurisdiction and regulation, flexibility is a must when it comes to protecting internal and consumer data. Cribl Stream’s data masking feature can be used to protect all types of PII, whether it’s credit card information, passport numbers, or SSNs. This feature allows organizations to find the best solution for their specific needs, and to ensure that all sensitive information is properly protected from potential breaches while maintaining compliance with regulations like HIPAA and GDPR.

Looking to get even more insights out of your data, without taking on any of the risks of data sharing? Cribl Stream allows you to send events to multiple destinations – unlocking the ability the store full-fidelity data on your security team’s infrastructure or a low-cost observability lake – and depersonalize any copies you want to share with relevant parts of your organization. This way, you can share data as needed for investigations or day-to-day operations while ensuring customer data stays safe. The Replay feature in Cribl Stream allows you to effortlessly access critical logs, metrics, and traces from the past, providing a seamless experience for auditors and threat hunters to review the data they need without any delays. With Stream, teams can replay data from a specific timeframe for compliance or data that pertains to a particular security incident, if the need arises.

How to Mask Data with Cribl Stream

We have a number of resources dedicated to helping you minimize the risk of ingesting PII into your analysis tools and other downstream systems.

• Cribl Docs on Data Masking
• Masking and Truncating Fields in Cribl Stream
• To Mask, or Not to Mask? That Is the Question

With the increasing amount of data being shared online, the risk of data breaches and non-compliance with regulations like GDPR becomes more prevalent. The docs and blogs linked above will help you implement pipelines that alleviate those risks while protecting both business data and consumer privacy.

Using a data masking feature is one way organizations can ensure they’re protecting customer data. When teams mask PII data with Cribl Stream before ingestion, they protect sensitive information from potential breaches, and stay compliant with regulations. This allows organizations to achieve a balance between getting the most value out of their data and keeping it safe and secure.

As cyber threats continue to evolve, Data Privacy Day serves as an important reminder of the need to safeguard data and enable trust – because privacy is worth celebrating.

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