By Marie E. Olson, CISM, CISSP, FIP
Deputy Chief Privacy Officer, The Boeing Company

This year, Data Privacy Day will spotlight the value of information. Whether you’re an individual looking to better manage your privacy and how your data is collected and shared, or a business collecting, using and storing that information, remember: Personal information is like money. Value it. Protect it.

Data Privacy Day began in the United States and Canada in January 2008 as an extension of the Data Protection Day celebration in Europe. Data Protection Day commemorates the January 28, 1981, signing of Convention 108, the first legally binding international treaty dealing with privacy and data protection. Data Privacy Day is now a celebration for everyone, observed annually on January 28.

In North America, the Data Privacy Day initiative is officially led by the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA), a nonprofit, public-private partnership dedicated to promoting a safer, more secure and more trusted internet. You can learn more about the history of Data Privacy Day, as well as information on how you can get involved and become a Champion, visit staysafeonline.org/data-privacy-day . You can also follow NCSA on Facebook and Twitter for updates and resources and use the official hashtag #PrivacyAware to join the conversation. Here are some ways you can get involved:

As an (ISC)² member: 

• Sign up and take the new GDPR Privacy Course
• Discuss privacy at your next (ISC)² Chapter meeting (consider having your chapter sign up to be a Privacy Champion on the NCSA website)

As a parent:

• Talk to your children about cybersafety
• Sponsor a cybersafety training at your child’s school

As an individual: 

• Use the resources on the NCSA website to update your privacy or security settings on your devices
• Purge or shred old files that are no longer needed