Pandemic boosts the importance of data privacy

A rapid shift to remote work and the need to make use of individuals' health information has led to greater emphasis on the importance of privacy protections during the pandemic.

The fourth annual Data Privacy Benchmark Study from Cisco, released today, analyzed the responses of 4,400 security and privacy professionals across 25 countries and explores attitudes towards privacy legislation and the emergence of privacy metrics being reported at senior level.

It finds consumers and the general public are growing increasingly concerned about how their personal data is being used. 87 percent of consumers expressed concerns about the privacy protections of the tools they needed to use to work, interact and connect remotely. But despite this 57 percent support employers using data to help make workplaces safe, though less than half support location tracking, contact tracing, disclosing information about infected individuals, and using individual information for research.

On the business side 60 percent of organizations say they weren't prepared for the privacy and security requirements involved in the shift to remote work and 93 percent of organizations turned to their privacy teams to help navigate these challenges. 90 percent say they are now reporting privacy metrics to their C-suites and boards.

"Privacy has come of age -- recognized as a fundamental human right and rising to a mission-critical priority for executive management," says Cisco vice president and chief privacy officer, Harvey Jang. "And with the accelerated move to work from anywhere, privacy has taken on greater importance in driving digitization, corporate resiliency, agility, and innovation."

You can find out more on the Cisco blog.

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