Data Privacy Day celebrated on 28 January 2023

Data Protection Day, or Data Privacy Day, is celebrated on January 28, with an aim to create more awareness about the right to data protection and the various ways in which people can keep their data safe. The theme for this year is ‘Think Privacy First’.

On 26th April 2006, the Council of Europe decided to formulate a Data Protection Day and announced that it will be observed each year on January 28. The main goal of the day is to educate people on the challenges and inform them of their rights to privacy.

Data Protection Day marks the anniversary of the opening of the global data protection Convention 108. For over 40 years, Convention 108 has influenced and shaped privacy and data protection. Data Protection Day is now celebrated globally and it is also known as ‘Privacy Day’ in some parts of the world.

Here are some ways with which people can protect their 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.

· Regularly change passwords to keep hackers away and use passwords that are 10 characters long with complex combinations.

· Make sure to only use devices with the latest firewalls and anti-virus software.

· 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.

· Make sure to set up Two-Factor Authentication on all your financial and email accounts.