How to Achieve Data Compliance in 2024

For organizations across all industries, one of the most difficult aspects of going digital is data compliance.

Around the globe, businesses of all kinds are subject to a host of differing regulatory standards surrounding data privacy and their overall cybersecurity competency. Achieving compliance with these standards can be costly and time-consuming, especially without an optimized approach.

With 2023 entering its final quarter — and 2024 just around the corner — it is more important than ever for your organization to define a clear compliance strategy for data privacy and security.

What is Data Compliance?

Data compliance is a type of regulatory standard focused on the management, storage, and security of data. This can include both business data and personal data belonging to customers, defining the policies and standards that organizations leveraging and storing data must follow.

While the specifics of data compliance vary depending on region-specific governance and legislation, most data compliance standards feature three main components:

The Regulatory Outlook for Data Compliance in 2024

As the world becomes more technology-oriented, regulators are focusing their efforts on ensuring consumers are well-protected against digital threats.

In 2024, we are likely to see the continuation of several major regulatory developments surrounding data privacy and security. The specifics of data privacy regulations depend on where in the world an organization is located, as well as the additional jurisdictions it operates in.

Here are some of the biggest regulatory data compliance standards to keep an eye on in 2024:

• General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): GDPR data compliance is a major regulation in the European Union (EU) that has helped set the stage for other data-related regulatory developments around the world. Under GDPR, individual people own the rights to their personal data, giving them total legal control over if, how, and when it can be used by professional organizations. The regulation is designed to protect the “fundamental rights and freedoms” associated with personal data.
• U.S. State-Level Privacy Acts: Due to state rights involved in U.S. politics, much of the data compliance regulatory change happens at the state level, rather than the federal level. As of 2023, Reuters reports that five U.S. states — California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, and Virginia — have taken action to enact GDPR-inspired regulations. The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) stands out thanks to being one of the first data compliance regulatory standards within the U.S. to limit how much access and freedom businesses possess when handling consumer data. Specifically, CCPA requires businesses to disclose data usage and provide consumers with the option to either delete their information from the business system or opt-out of sharing that data.
• PCI Data Security Standard (DSS): The PCI DSS is a payments-specific data compliance regulation that involves a wide scope of businesses and financial service providers. Anyone dealing with the use and storage of payment card data needs to have a PCI DSS compliance strategy in place. This strategy can be achieved either by an in-house compliance team or through the implementation of PCI compliance solutions that outsource the regulatory responsibilities to a third party. This data compliance regulation is global in nature and is enforced by the major card networks that make up the PCI Security Standards Council (Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express).

Using GDPR as a Framework for Successful Data Compliance in 2024

As a whole, GDPR has proven to be a massive influence in the regulatory space, with many governments and regulating bodies modeling their own data privacy laws on the GDPR.

Even if you are not in the EU, the GDPR is a solid framework for businesses to begin building a data privacy strategy. By closely following the GDPR requirements, you can achieve a robust data compliance strategy that is positioned for success as new regulatory requirements are enacted within your region.

With this in mind, let’s look at the four main pillars of GDPR as outlined in the official GDPR Checklist for Data Controllers to help shed greater light on what a comprehensive data compliance framework entails:

1. Lawful Basis and Transparency

The lawful basis and transparency pillar of GDPR deals primarily with how data is processed and documented. The requirements for this component of GDPR include:

• Conducting information audits to determine what information your organization processes and who has authorized access to that information — for organizations with 250+ employees or those that conduct higher-risk data processing, an up-to-date and thoroughly detailed list of all data processing activities must be continuously maintained
• Creating and maintaining a legal justification for any data processing activities
• Providing clear and transparent information about data processing activities and legal justification within an established privacy policy for an organization

2. Data Security

The second pillar of GDPR is data security, which relates to how data is stored and secured by an organization. The GDPR requirements for data security include:

• Data protection must be taken into account at all times, starting from the very beginning of the product development stage — organizations must implement the appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect data
• Organizations must encrypt, pseudonymize, or anonymize personal data whenever possible
• An internal security policy for an organization’s team members must be created to help build awareness around data protection
• The creation of an internal process for data protection impact assessments — organizations are expected to have the processes in place to know when to conduct these assessments
• Enacting a process to notify authorities and data subjects (owners of the personal data) if and when a data breach occurs

3. Accountability and Governance

When it comes to achieving data compliance in 2024 within an organization, much of the responsibility falls on the organization itself to ensure it has the proper policies, processes, and protections in place.

The GDPR requirements of accountability and governance include:

• Designating a team member responsible for ensuring GDPR data compliance across the entire organization — this team member must be “empowered to evaluate data protection policies and the implementation of those policies”
• Signing data processing agreements with any organizations or third parties used for processing personal data on behalf of the organization
• For organizations outside of the EU, a representative within one of the EU member states must be appointed to take on the responsibility of GDPR compliance for the organization
• Appointing a Data Protection Officer (when necessary)

4. Privacy Rights

The privacy rights detailed within GDPR help to define the specific rights and privileges individuals have over their personal information. Requirements for privacy rights under GDPR include:

• Respecting the right of consumers to see any personal data you have on them and how your organization is using that data — this includes how long your organization plans to store the data and the reason for keeping it, as well as sending a first copy of this information free of charge
• Offering a simple process for consumers to correct or update inaccurate information
• Allowing consumers to easily request that their personal data be deleted from your system, and/or that your organization should stop processing their data
• Providing consumers with easy access to a copy of their personal data in a format that is easily transferable to a different company
• Providing a simple process for consumers to object to your organization processing their data
• Enacting the proper procedures to protect privacy rights when using automated processes

Can Blockchain Help Support Data Compliance in 2024?

Blockchain technologies are all the rage these days — but do they have the potential to help optimize data privacy and security practices?

The use of blockchain within data compliance strategies is not yet widely seen, thanks in part to the lack of clear regulations surrounding blockchain and its related technologies. However, blockchain offers several tremendous advantages to data privacy that could potentially revolutionize data compliance in the future, making this a key technology to watch in 2024 and beyond.

Three of the top potential benefits of blockchain technology for data compliance include:

Enhance Your Data Compliance Strategy in 2024 with Exadel

To achieve a data privacy strategy that is strong, transparent and efficient, your organization needs a trustworthy technology provider with decades of experience implementing data compliance solutions.

At Exadel, we understand the nuance involved in data compliance across various industries, from banking and e-commerce to software firms, startups, and media services. Our data compliance solutions cover a broad range of needs that help your organization establish a robust end-to-end digital infrastructure that falls within the exact requirements of the regulatory standards in your region.

Contact the Exadel team today to learn how we can help you prepare for the data compliance in 2024.