[Julie Mungai, Senior Manager, Attest Services at BARR Advisory:]
Data security and data privacy go hand in hand, but they’re not the same.
Security is about protecting data. It’s about making sure data is safe from harm or attack. Privacy, on the other hand, is about control. It’s about who gets to decide how personal information is collected, shared, or used. In other words, security keeps the bad actors out, whereas privacy gives people a voice in how their data is handled.
This distinction matters because around the world, laws and regulations are putting privacy front and center. Most people have probably heard of the EU GDPR. It is one of the most comprehensive privacy laws in existence, and it gives EU residents powerful rights, including the right to access their data, the right to correct it, the right to be forgotten. It also holds organizations accountable in a way we hadn’t seen pre-GDPR. It has serious ramifications. If you mishandle personal data, the penalties are steep, and not just financially steep, but also reputationally.
Here in the U.S., the laws look a little different. We don’t have one overarching federal data privacy law, at least not yet. Instead, we see state by state privacy regulations, leading to a patchwork approach. California led the way with the CCPA, which gives consumers the right to know what personal information is collected, the right to opt out of having that information sold, and the right to request deletion. Other states have followed suit with similar laws, and more are on the horizon.
Organizations must also contend with industry-specific regulations. For healthcare organizations in the U.S., HIPAA defines how patient data must be handled. In the financial sector, GLBA protects non-public personal information and requires institutions to be transparent about how they share it. Depending on who you serve and where you operate, you may be answering to multiple sets of privacy rules at once.
So how does it all fit into compliance? Regulations tell you what you need to do, but compliance frameworks help you navigate the roadmap for how to get there. For example, ISO 27701, an extension of ISO 27001, builds privacy controls into an existing information security management system, an ISMS. And the SOC 2 option lets you add a privacy criteria to your audit, so you can demonstrate to customers that you’re not just securing data, but you’re handling personal information responsibly. For healthcare and financial organizations, certifications like HITRUST provide a clear way to show compliance with HIPAA and other industry-specific requirements.
The point isn’t to chase every single framework or checklist. No, it’s to build a privacy program that is consistent, one that’s scalable, and one that is aligned to your business goals. At the end of the day, privacy isn’t just about adhering to regulations. It’s about showing your customers and your partners that you respect their personal data and that you can be trusted with it.
At BARR, our goal is to help you build trust through security and compliance. We work with you to identify the regulations that apply to your business. We help you choose the right framework, and we help you design an optimal compliance strategy that removes complexity instead of adding to it.
Here’s the bottom line: Privacy is no longer optional. It’s becoming a defining factor in how organizations grow and earn consumer trust. The companies that treat privacy as a strategic priority, not just a compliance checkbox item, are the ones that will stand out in the market. If you’re ready to take that step, you don’t have to navigate it alone.
At BARR, we’ll help you build a privacy program that is not only compliant, but one that builds trust and confidence among your customers and your partners.
Contact us for a free consultation.