Privacy Ref - Blog - Privacy articles and professional opinions

Privacy Ref

1 day ago

Passwords for Shared Devices

My wife and I went shopping for furniture this weekend. After isolating for months, it was a pleasure to be outside and doing something seemingly “normal.” When we entered the furniture store, we were met by a salesperson with a tablet in hand. As we worked with her, I realized how ex...

Privacy Ref

4 days ago

Privacy and COVID

My wife and I have been very careful about “staying within our Bubble,” but it was bound to happen. Someone outside of our small group had encountered someone who tested positive and the “Bubble” began to burst. It made me consider privacy in this time of pandemic. How the bubble came in contact ...

Privacy Ref

1 week ago

Priva-See, Priva-Do

Most of these blogs come from the perspective of a privacy professional, noting what you can do to help your organization be better at handling privacy. Today, however, I want to talk about you. Individuals have a lot to consider regarding privacy, particularly when it comes to applications and o...

Privacy Ref

2 months ago

Privacy team GO!

It is a fairly common trope in comic books or other superhero media where the invincible villain is on the brink of victory only to be foiled at the last moment by an Achilles heel. “NOOO” they cry out; “My one weakness, how did you know!??!” Then the hero makes a pun, saves the day, […]

Privacy Ref

2 months ago

Practice Makes Perfect

Over the course of 2020 I have learned that practice does indeed make perfect. At the very least, practice does help you improve. An issue can be finding where to start, especially when covering a new topic. Making use of outside resources and other professionals is one option and is often the be...

Privacy Ref

3 months ago

Privacy Certification Exam Study Groups

Recently, Privacy Ref introduced study groups to assist in preparation for IAPP certification exams. It is a need to be filled that I have seen for a while and been asked about in my role as an instructor for the IAPP. The question is what makes Privacy Ref Certification Study Groups different?

Privacy Ref

4 months ago

Segregation of Duties and Data Inventories

A basic component of a privacy program is understanding what data you collect, where that data resides, and how it flows through your data processing systems. When combined with other characteristics of the data, this knowledge allows a privacy professional to understand what laws and regulations...

Privacy Ref

6 months ago

Data Breach

Havenly Data Breach Havenly, an interior design website, was recently a victim of a data breach. A group or individual hacker was able to gain access to databases containing roughly 1.3 million records. How this information was accessed is unclear, however there is a significant amount of informa...

Privacy Ref

6 months ago

The Weakest Embedded Link

The Weakest Embedded Link One of the most difficult vulnerabilities to overcome is human error. You cannot simply program your employees to only open specific emails or attachments and there is no guarantee that training will be effective. When it comes to phishing, you are only as strong as the ...