PII Compliance Checklist: Safeguard Your PII Data

Compliance is a crucial part of the daily operation of any organization that handles data. With strictures increasing worldwide, the need for better compliance is also rising. One critical area where companies would do well to ensure proper compliance is handling PII.

In this blog, Protecto provides you with a handy primer on PII compliance and a checklist that can help you get your PII compliance in order and learn in detail about the subject.

What is PII compliance?

PII stands for Personally Identifiable Information. It refers to information about private individuals that companies hold. Holding and processing PII is governed by data privacy standards. PII compliance means an IT system complies with one of the many standards dictating how private data should be protected.

Many PII protection standards fall into two categories, Industry data protection standards and Geographical data protection standards. When it comes to the astute handling of Personally Identifiable Information (PII), industry standards provide guidelines for maintaining its security. However, geographic factors also come into play, as the location of both the data storage and the individuals accessing the data must be considered. These standards ensure that data is kept confidential and prohibit practices like selling PII or using it for purposes beyond its original intent. Essentially, PII compliance refers to adhering to these data protection standards. In addition, compliance with these standards ensures businesses keep within the law and avoid legal action.

Must Read: All You Need To Know About Data Privacy

PII compliance checklist: Safeguard your PII data

In today's digital age, protecting personally identifiable information (PII) is more important than ever. With the rise of stringent privacy regulations such as GDPR, businesses are encouraged to implement more effective and rigorous approaches to data security. Here is a PII compliance checklist that can help companies to safeguard their PII data.

->Assess PII Data Collection

The first step in safeguarding PII data is to identify and classify the PII your organization collects and where it is stored. This includes reviewing all data collection practices and ensuring that only necessary PII is collected. Businesses should also take proper care to make sure that any sensitive data is always stored in a secure environment.

When assessing PII data collection, consider the different types of PII that your organization may collect. This can include common forms of PII such as Social Security numbers, email addresses, and phone numbers, as well as digital identifiers such as biometric data, geolocation, user IDs, and IP addresses.

When collecting PII data, it's crucial to keep in mind the various regulations that may apply to your organization. In the United States, for example, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Guide to Protecting the Confidentiality of Personally Identifiable Information identifies "personally identifiable" information like name, Social Security number, and biometric records that can be used to identify an individual.

->Implement Strong Access Control

Access control is a critical component of PII data protection. This includes implementing robust authentication methods, including but not limited to multi-factor authentication, to ensure that only authorized individuals can access PII data. It's also important to regularly review access controls and permissions to ensure they are up-to-date and appropriate.

In addition to implementing strong authentication methods, it's also important to consider other access control measures, such as attribute-based access control (ABAC) and role-based access control (RBAC). These methods can help ensure that only individuals with a legitimate requirement to know can access PII data.

->Secure PII Storage and Transmission

Securing the storage and transmission of PII data is essential in protecting it from unauthorized access or disclosure. This includes encrypting PII data at rest and in transit and using secure protocols for transmitting data. Regularly testing and updating security measures can also help ensure that PII data remains secure.

When securing the storage and transmission of PII data, consider the different types of encryptions that may be appropriate for your organization. This can include symmetric encryption, asymmetric encryption, and hashing. It's also essential to use secure protocols such as HTTPS and SFTP when transmitting data.

->Conduct Regular Security Audits

Regular security audits can provide immense help in identifying vulnerabilities and potential risks to PII data. This includes reviewing access controls, security measures, and data storage practices. In addition, any identified vulnerabilities should be promptly addressed to ensure the continued protection of PII data.

When conducting security audits, consider internal and external threats to PII data. This can include reviewing employee access controls and permissions and assessing the security of third-party vendors that may have access to PII data.

->Implement Tokenization for PII Data

Tokenization is an accepted method of protecting sensitive data by replacing it with an equivalent, known as a token, that is not sensitive. This can dramatically reduce the risk of unauthorized access or disclosure of PII data by limiting the amount of sensitive data stored within an organization's systems.

When implementing tokenization for PII data, consider the different types of tokenization that may be appropriate for your organization. This can include format-preserving tokenization (FPT) and non-format-preserving tokenization (NFPT). It's also essential to ensure that tokenization is implemented securely.

Suggested Read: Data Tokenization: Why Is It Important?

->Establish Data Retention and Disposal Policies

Establishing clear data retention and disposal policies can help ensure that PII data is kept only as long as necessary. This includes regularly reviewing and purging unnecessary or outdated PII data and securely disposing of any physical records containing PII.

When establishing data retention and disposal policies, consider the different regulations that may be applicable to your organization. For instance, GDPR requires organizations to retain personal data for at most the necessary duration for the specific purposes for which the organization initially collected it.

->Develop a Data Breach Response Plan

Having a well-defined data breach response plan in place can help minimize and mitigate the impact of a potential breach on both the organization and affected individuals. This includes having clear procedures for identifying, containing, and reporting a violation and notifying affected individuals and regulatory authorities as required.

When developing a data breach response plan, consider the proper steps to adopt in the event of a breach. This can include identifying the cause of the breach, containing the breach, assessing the impact of the breach, and notifying affected individuals and regulatory authorities.

->Comply with Applicable Privacy Regulations

Compliance with applicable privacy regulations is essential in protecting PII data. This includes identifying which regulations apply to your organization, such as GDPR or HIPAA, and ensuring that your organization's practices align with these regulations.

When complying with applicable privacy regulations, consider the different requirements that may apply to your organization. This includes data collection, storage, processing, and erasure provisions. Regularly reviewing and updating your organization's practices is also a good idea to ensure continued compliance.

How can organizations assess their current PII compliance level?

Organizations can assess their current PII compliance level by following a PII compliance checklist. This can include identifying and classifying PII, creating a PII compliance policy, implementing data security tools, and practicing identity and access management (IAM).

In addition to following a PII compliance checklist, organizations can also assess their current PII compliance level by identifying their legislative obligations for PII compliance in their territories. This can include identifying applicable privacy regulations such as GDPR or HIPAA and ensuring their practices align with them.

Organizations can also assess their current PII compliance level by identifying any voluntary standards they must comply with, such as PCI DSS. This can help ensure their practices align with industry best practices for protecting PII data.

In conclusion, organizations can assess their current PII compliance level by following a PII compliance checklist, identifying their legislative obligations for PII compliance, and identifying any voluntary standards they must comply with. Regularly assessing their current PII compliance level can help organizations ensure they take the necessary steps to protect PII data.

Interesting Read: Understanding the Impact of GDPR on Data Privacy

Consequences of non-compliance with PII regulations

Non-compliance with PII regulations can result in devastating consequences for organizations. These consequences include inadequate cybersecurity, expensive fines, high individual penalties, and reputational damage.

Inadequate cybersecurity can result from non-compliance with data privacy regulations. For instance, if an organization's systems do not comply with data privacy standards, its data security could be lacking. This can put the organization at imminent risk of a data breach and compromise the security of PII data.

Expensive fines are another consequence of non-compliance with PII regulations. The severity of fines can vary depending on the specific statute that has been violated. For instance, every Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) violation carries a fine of up to $100,000. In contrast, Brazil's General Data Protection Law (LGPD) violations can carry a financial penalty of up to 2 percent of the sanctioned organization's gross revenue.

High individual penalties are another potential consequence of non-compliance with PII regulations. In some cases, individuals within an organization may be held personally liable for violations of data privacy laws. This can result in hefty financial penalties for those individuals.

Reputational damage is another potential consequence of non-compliance with PII regulations. If an organization is discovered to be non-compliant with data privacy laws, it can suffer significant damage to its reputation. This can result in grievous loss of customers and decreased trust in the organization.

In conclusion, non-compliance with PII regulations can have significant consequences for organizations. These consequences include inadequate cybersecurity, expensive fines, high individual penalties, and reputational damage. Therefore, it's vital for organizations to ensure that they are compliant with applicable PII regulations to avoid these consequences.

How Protecto can help you streamline your PII compliance

Protecting PII data is essential for organizations in today's digital age. With the rise of privacy regulations, businesses are encouraged to implement more effective and stringent approaches to data security. Organizations can take concrete steps to safeguard their PII data by following a PII compliance checklist.

However, it's important to note that PII compliance is not a one-time effort. Organizations must regularly assess their current PII compliance level and ensure they take the necessary steps to protect PII data. This includes evaluating data collection practices, implementing strong access controls, securing data storage and transmission, conducting regular security audits, implementing tokenization, establishing data retention and disposal policies, developing a data breach response plan, and complying with applicable privacy regulations.

Non-compliance with PII regulations can result in significant consequences for organizations. These consequences include inadequate cybersecurity, expensive fines, high individual penalties, and reputational damage. Therefore, organizations must ensure compliance with applicable PII regulations to avoid these consequences.

Protecto’s core technology, Data Posture Intelligence, precisely locates problems in hours and recommends ways to reduce them. With Protecto, organizations can eliminate millions in privacy compliance and data protection risks and implement privacy preservation in just days.

Protecto offers several features that can help organizations with PII compliance. These features include the ability to discover PII, understand the context of who has access to sensitive data and how it is used, eliminate PII sprawl by pseudonymization of personal data and locking it in a secure vault, meet privacy compliance by eliminating overexposed data in a few clicks, and reduce millions in privacy risks.

Protecto can help organizations with PII compliance by providing a platform for discovering, protecting, and monitoring personal data. Its features can help organizations reduce privacy compliance and data protection risks and implement privacy preservation quickly. 

Sign up for a demo now to learn how Protecto can help accelerate compliance with all relevant privacy regulations.