Since 2006, some European countries have marked Data Privacy Day, initially to raise awareness. Today, privacy is a critical consideration to cloud computing. People will not use technology they do not trust, and data privacy is an important consideration in building that trust.
New technologies can make people question how their own information is controlled. As Brendon Lynch, Chief Privacy Officer mentions in his Microsoft on the Issues blog, Microsoft is putting you in control in three ways:
- Building privacy into products. We design and build products with security and privacy in mind, from our software development processes to using best-in-class encryption to protect your data. These steps are critical to keeping your information safe from attacks.
- Building privacy into policies and practices. Putting you in control means offering transparency, starting with company policies that provide simple and easy to understand explanations of how your personal information is used and stored on Microsoft’s platforms.
- Advocating laws and legal processes that keep people in control. We require governments around the world to use legal process to request customer data. We have challenged laws to make privacy protections stronger. And we advocate for better public policy to balance privacy and public safety.
Microsoft takes a principled approach to building trust in the cloud focusing on Cybersecurity, Data Privacy, Compliance and Transparency. Data Privacy Day is an excellent time to evaluate privacy within your own organization.
