Data Privacy Day observed on 28 January 2023

Data Protection Day, or Data Privacy Day 2023: January 28 is recognised as Data Protection Day or Data Privacy Day. The objective is to raise awareness of both the right to data protection and the numerous means by which people can increase the security of their data. Let’s first understand the history and significance. The world is slowly but steadily moving towards digitisation, but this also means our data is becoming more vulnerable. Leading companies are expected to make significant investments this year on upgrading more stringent cybersecurity policies and procedures, enabling security automation, and monitoring attack surfaces.

January 2023 Current Affairs Quiz

This year’s theme is “Think Privacy First.” Prioritizing data privacy in this digital age is practical for both individuals and businesses.

History and Significance of Data Protection Day

January 28 is declared as Data Privacy Day to promote understanding of the importance of online privacy, which has been designated a fundamental right of every citizen.  The Council of Europe on April 26, 2006, decided to coin a Data Protection Day and announced that it will be observed each year on January 28, the day on which the Council of Europe’s data protection convention, known as “Convention 108,” was opened. Outside of Europe, Data Protection Day is now a global holiday known as Privacy Day. This day is now celebrated globally to raise one of the most important issues of the digitally advancing world. The main goal of the day is to educate people on the challenges and inform them of their rights to privacy.

10 Ways to Protect Your Personal Information and Data

• Always use storage with data protection with built-in disk clustering and redundancy.
• Always create copies of data and store them separately, to be able to restore data in case of loss or modification.
• Always review data privacy settings on digital, and social media accounts and apps you use.
• Use passwords longer than 10 characters with complex combinations, and change them frequently to stave off hackers.
• Ensure that only computers running the most recent firewall and antivirus software are used.
• Turn off Bluetooth devices when not in use as Bluetooth devices can also leave personal data vulnerable which could be accessed by hackers in several ways.
• Always keep your operating system updated to ensure that they have the latest performance and security updates.
• Avoid using unsecured public networks as they may be vulnerable to breach and in some cases, they may be imposter networks waiting to steal your data.
• Always secure personal info offline on a device that doesn’t connect to the internet to make sure it is safe and away from the reach of hackers.
• Don’t forget to enable Two-Factor Authentication on all of your email and financial accounts.