5 Ways to Prepare for California Consumer Privacy Act

With the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) implementation on May 25, 2018, a somewhat similar type of regulation will shortly be introduced in the United States, as well. Known as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) is expected to come into effect on January 1st, 2020, adding several new regulations regarding consumers' data.

Among these regulations, we can expect things like the rights of consumers to know what data about themselves is being collected, the right to deny the sale of that information, as well as the right to delete that data. They are also entitled to know the commercial purpose of their information, to know which third-parties will have access to it, as well as the private right of action when companies breach that data.

For companies to prepare themselves for the upcoming implementation of the CCPA, they need to be aware of the regulations and assess the business risks that may come attached. Below are several ways for your company to prepare for the California Consumer Privacy Act.

Updating Your Privacy Policy

One of the many new requirements of the CCPA is for every business having to deal with California residents is to update their privacy policies so that they include the residents' rights. You will need to have this ready before the act goes into effect on January 1st, 2020.

Leverage the GDPR

With many similarities between the GDPR and CCPA like subject data rights of access, portability, or erasure, companies can leverage their GDPR program now to prepare themselves for the upcoming CCPA better. To do this, you can use a Compliance Manager to ensure that you are up to code for both the GDPR and CCPA.

Mapping Your Data and Sources

One critical aspect that needs special consideration is your data inventories. You will need to map every piece of personal information about your customers, gathered by either your marketing or sales teams. Once this is complete, you will have to make sure that it's prepared for access, portability, and deletion requests from your clients. You will also need to make sure that your marketing software vendors are also able to fulfill these obligations. If not, it would be wise to switch to more privacy-oriented vendors.

Use Encryption to Protect Sensitive Information

The CCPA will impose penalties for data breaches of consumers personal information. When it comes to the GDPR and CCPA, encryption is seen as a useful and effective method of protecting such personal information from unauthorized parties in the event of a data breach.

Verify Your Third-Party Data Sources

Companies will also need to reevaluate those from who they buy customer data. These third parties need to be legitimate; otherwise, you may be subject to hefty fines since this is considered as operating on breached or stolen data.

Takeaway

To comply with the California Consumer Privacy Act, it's best that you find a partner that will help you navigate the path forward. Managed Solution will help ensure that you are in compliance with all the requirements of CCPA. Contact us today!

IT Trends for 2019 That You Should Incorporate in Next Year's Budget

Our fast-paced society is moving at such a high rate; it’s almost impossible to keep up with all the future trends that may pop-up around the corner. That is, of course, if you do not have specialists and trend analysts inside your company that study anything that could be the next big thing in IT in 2019, and in the years to come.

Trends, when it comes to the fashion industry, can appear at the beginning of a year, and by the second quarter, they can already be yesterday’s news. And they usually are. But that’s what happens in the fashion world. When it comes to industries like healthcare, biotech, financial services, and a few others, trends can be identified in time. They are usually analyzed well in advance, and the predictions tend to be spot on if the right people are handling the data.

2019 is a very promising year for IT trends, and here are some that should be included in your company’s budget:

 

Digital Transformation and Cloud

We cannot talk about a company undergoing a digital transformation process without cloud platforms. These two services come hand in hand, and they can bring any company plenty of benefits when it comes to being more productive, more efficient and more cost-effective.

As part of your business’ digital transformation process, switching over to cloud will allow your company to be more agile when it comes to handling data, messaging, and business portfolios from anywhere in the world you, your employees, or clients may be.

Cloud-based infrastructure is essential to bringing your company into the world of the future, and it’s vital in delivering flexible and on-demand access to resources worldwide, to both your employees and clients.

Want to learn more about IT trends to look out for in 2019? Sign up to watch our webinar to hear from our Founder Sean Ferrel and Solutions Architect Richard Swaisgood on what you can expect in 2019.

 

Machine Learning, AI and Automation

The age of automation is upon us, and some companies, like Google, Apple and Tesla are at the forefront of this new industrial revolution. With driverless cars and self-serving supermarkets, automation is only around the corner as a large scale phenomenon.

Machine learning and AI (artificial intelligence) are necessary fields at the forefront of developing the new way companies will work in the future. Most businesses will undergo complex automation processes to become more productive, and this will be done mainly through machine learning and AI.

Although this will mean that plenty of people will lose their jobs, it also means that it will create value in other areas of our day to day lives. Automation is not only a trend for 2019; it will become a day to day thing from now on.

While most people are familiar with the idea of AI (artificial intelligence) from sci-fi movies, not everyone is acquainted with the role machine learning plays as part of AI. Machine learning is a field of AI that interprets and uses statistics to help computers better understand behaviors, thus allowing them to learn and replicate.

Machine learning will lead to the improvement of daily processes which take place in any company, small, medium or big, because it helps cut costs exponentially and it eliminates the random factor out of many equations, leaving less (close to zero) room for errors.

 

Preparing for the California Consumer Privacy Act

The EU has already gone through the process of the GDPR (Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation), as of August 2018, and around a third of companies could not continue their activities in the European Union without making severe changes.

The same will happen with most companies in the US after the California Consumer Privacy Act comes into play. The “CCPA” will be taking effect as of January 1, 2020, so there’s still time to prepare your company to become compliant with the new set of regulations, especially when it comes to managing data.

If your company undergoes any security breaches, this could lead to severe financial losses because based on this new act, any eligible client can demand up to $750 for each violation. It means that if your company is in charge of handling private data and suffers a cyber-attack or any security breach, you are will be held accountable and have to endure the losses.

When companies work with professional data management companies, the entire responsibility will be shifted towards them, making it easier for you to focus on your core business, without the threat of losing significant amounts of money in newly-filed lawsuits based on the new CCPA act.