As a business you handle personal information about your customers and staff. By law, you are obliged to safeguard this data and ensure that it’s used in a proper manner. It is not always clear what constitutes personal data.
It is essential to realize that the definition of personal information varies depending on the http://www.bizinfoportal.co.uk/2021/04/15/identifying-the-business-finance-function-you-may-have/ legal jurisdiction and country of origin. In general, it refers to any information that could identify an individual. This includes data such as the person’s email address or telephone number, however it also includes any other data which can be linked to an individual, thereby making them identifiable. For instance the date of birth, their mother’s maiden names biometric data, information regarding passports and visas, credit card details, and other sensitive data regarding employment (e.g. Performance ratings and disciplinary records).
The information should also be identifiable by others. If it is difficult for someone else to recognize the information, then it is not considered to be personal. This is the “practicability test”.
The final step to determine whether something is personal is that it must be about a living, identified person. This does not apply to documents that are business-related, such as invoices, orders, or other documents that are used for business.
If sensitive personal information is stolen, lost or stolen, or shared in any other way without authorization, it can be very harmful. It is essential to educate employees about the importance of safeguarding sensitive PII. It is also essential to make sure to protect the data when not being used, such as the logging off of computers that are not being used systems and destroying paper documents. It is important to periodically review the PII in your system, and limit access to those who have an official reason for doing this.
