Navigating the Security Demands of DPDPA Compliance

Businesses across India are preparing to implement the new Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDPA), which aims to safeguard the privacy of Indian citizens by establishing a comprehensive framework for the collection, use and sharing of digital personal data.

The DPDPA applies to all public and private organizations handling Indian personal data in digital form, including businesses outside India that use such data for marketing or sales purposes.

Key principles of data handling under DPDPA

The DPDPA outlines several fundamental principles for data handling. These include obtaining explicit consent from individuals before processing their personal data, collecting and using data for specific, lawful purposes only, and ensuring data accuracy.

Protecting personal data from unauthorized access and breaches is an integral component of data privacy. The DPDPA also emphasizes transparency and accountability. All of this has significant implications for cybersecurity.

Meeting DPDPA requirements from a security perspective

Companies need to know what personal data they hold, where it stored, who has access to it, how it is protected and how it can be recovered and restored if the worst happens. The answers to these questions will help to shape the security strategy.

There are three components that should feature in any security strategy:

• Security technologies such as email, network, application and data protection – which will secure your mailboxes, data and users by encrypting emails and preventing unauthorized access. They will protect networks against ransomware and other malware attacks targeting data, and secure application interfaces that are increasingly targeted by cyberthreats looking for access to data.

• Security programs and policies such as authentication measures, password policies and access controls – for example, is access to data limited to those who need it and controlled with measures such as multifactor authentication or “zero trust” access? Are your access and authentication controls consistently applied across the company?

• Employee education and awareness about secure data handling and the latest cyberthreats targeting data – everyone needs to know the latest threats to look out for, how to report them and how to handle data securely.

Compliance with DPDPA’s breach notification requirements is another important point to consider. Extended detection and response (XDR) solutions combine advanced technologies with expert analysis and continuous 24/7 monitoring and response to quickly identify and address security incidents and potential breaches.

Last, but by no means least, to comply with DPDPA’s data retention and documentation mandates, organizations need secure, tamper-proof, data backup solutions for reliable data recovery, risk mitigation, business continuity, and compliance, minimizing human error and downtime.

Conclusion

The implementation of the DPDPA marks a significant step forward in safeguarding the privacy of Indian citizens and setting a new standard for data protection. By proactively addressing compliance requirements, organizations can enhance their overall security posture, ensuring the protection and integrity of all their data in an increasingly digital world.

The author is the Systems Engineer Manager at Barracuda Network.