A new wave of data compliance has surfaced. The California Compliance Privacy Act (CCPA) took effect on January 1, 2020, notably giving consumers control over the personal information organizations obtain from them. Ground Labs can help your organization build a complete CCPA solution by scanning your servers for over 300 types of data and demonstrating compliance with custom reporting. 

Let’s learn more about CCPA and determine how Ground Labs can help.

Under the CCPA, State residents now have the autonomy to request access to, delete or opt-out of sharing or selling their information online. They can also take legal action if an organization violates their rights or fails to comply. 

The ethics behind online data collection and consumer privacy have raised concerns among many. The resulting CCPA intends to remedy those concerns by establishing user transparency, awareness, and authority. 

As the privacy beam tilts increasingly towards the user, organizations must react accordingly and find solutions to the various challenges presented by the CCPA, or else face the consequences. 

Organizational Challenges Brought on by the CCPA

Businesses will have to do a deep-dive into current data retrieval and storage practices. They must determine what personally identifiable information (PII) they have, where it resides, and whether or not it’s secure. And that’s just the beginning. 

The CCPA outlines specific regulations: 

  • Organizations have a 45-day response window to consumer rights requests. 
  • Privacy policies must be reviewed and updated every 12 months.
  • Consumers must be notified before or at the time of data collection. 
  • Websites and mobile apps must include a “Do not sell my information” link to accommodate a user’s right to opt-out. 
  • Organizations must keep a 24-month record of requests and their responses to show compliance.

A tidy operation is imperative. If a single piece of personal information seeps through a database, the responsible party could endure a lawsuit of up to $2,500. If the party makes a habit of losing track of PII, it could encounter long-term repercussions such as a tarnished reputation and a loss of shareholder value.

Thus, organizations should take a proactive approach to identifying CCPA solutions. The more effort they put in on the front-end, the less they will have to worry about on the back-end and tedious, manual work can be avoided. 

CCPA Solutions for Your Organization

Conduct a Data Audit

First and foremost, you must discover and compartmentalize all user data. Where did the data originate? Who has access to the data? How is the data being used? 

Answering those questions and implementing a plan to constantly address them will help your organization manage risk. You will be able to identify user information upon its request.

Furthermore, a data audit enables operators to retrace their steps and re-learn systems. This could prove pivotal as your organization searches for CCPA vulnerabilities. 

Communicate Consumers’ Rights Through All Platforms

 A key point of compliance is notifying users of their rights. Your organization must figure an effective way to communicate the CCPA and its purpose to online visitors. 

Possibilities might involve a banner or blurb on any landing pages, and a link to a page which discusses the CCPA in greater depth. Be sure to cover all your bases, including social media and third-party contracts.

Inform visitors of their right to delete any personal data collected, opt-out of the sale of personal information, and know what personal information is being gathered and for what reasons.

Establish a Hierarchy Committed to Compliance

A top-down organizational structure ensures that processes and strategies are examined at multiple levels. With data sensitivity at the core of the operation and privacy regulations tightened, an organization cannot be too careful. 

You might consider appointing an individual to oversee the compliance movement. That person would keep a constant eye on the CCPA, GDPR, and any other data privacy influences. They can generate new points of order, or necessary tweaks before it’s too late.

Ultimately, compliance requires a team effort. Therefore, prioritize each person or group of people by making sure they know their roles and responsibilities like the back of their hands – no matter where they fall in the hierarchy. 

Rely on Comprehensive Data Monitoring for CCPA Solutions

As business operations extend far beyond data processing, you may not have the resources to commit to consumer privacy protection. The good news is there’s a product entirely devoted to managing user data and maintaining compliance. 

Ground Labs’ Enterprise Recon helps organizations find and remediate sensitive information across the broadest range of structured and unstructured data, whether it’s stored on your servers, your employees’ devices, or in the cloud. 

The advanced data discovery tool lays the groundwork for compliance, while also contributing ongoing efforts to monitoring, storing, and securing personally identifiable information. 

With the CCPA in full effect, holding organizations to higher privacy standards than ever before, there has never been a more appropriate time to adopt all-encompassing, automated data discovery software. 

Ready to learn more about how Ground Labs can help you gain and maintain CCPA compliance? Schedule a demo today.

Related Resources:

Want to keep up with all our blog posts? Subscribe to our newsletter!

Subscribe