In the face of advancing technology, data privacy has emerged as a critical aspect of personal and business security. Beyond safeguarding against misuse, data privacy ensures the responsible and authorized use of personal information, particularly in a world where digital interactions and data sharing have become ubiquitous. Consequently, facilitating data privacy has become a critical concern and top priority for organizations.
Recognizing this need, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released the first version of its Privacy Framework in January 2020 – a powerful tool designed to guide cybersecurity professionals through the intricate landscape of data privacy. With a "modest update" to the framework on the horizon, this guide aims to break down the principles of the current version of the NIST Privacy Framework, shed light on its significance, and explain why it can benefit organizations now and in the future.
Understanding the NIST Privacy Framework
The NIST Privacy Framework, a brainchild of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, stands as a versatile and standardized approach tailored to comprehensively protect user data. Developed to provide a flexible solution, it addresses the multifaceted challenges posed by data privacy. More specifically, the NIST defines its framework as "a voluntary tool developed in collaboration with stakeholders intended to help organizations identify and manage privacy risk to build innovative products and services while protecting individuals’ privacy."
Explaining the Core Framework
Both the NIST Privacy Framework and the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, on which the privacy framework is based, are separated into three parts: the core, profiles, and implementation tiers. The core represents a set of data privacy activities and outcomes that are identified and used to facilitate dialogue within organizations and determine how they manage privacy risks. Organizations' foundational privacy-related activities are organized by five functions:
Identify-P: Understanding Privacy Risks
Identify-P focuses on aiding organizations in identifying, understanding, and managing data processing practices and protocols to identify related privacy risks and better understand their business environment.
Govern-P: Managing Privacy Risk
Govern-P dives deep into the roles, responsibilities, and practices of organizations concerning data privacy. It defines principles for collecting, sharing, and storing personal data, guiding organizations toward compliance with relevant laws and regulations.
Control-P: Implementing Privacy Controls
Control-P emphasizes implementing activities that allow both organizations and individuals to control their data with privacy risks in mind. It involves establishing and maintaining policies, processes, and procedures for enabling individuals' data processing preferences and requests.
Communicate-P: Transparent Data Processing
Communicate-P focuses on roles and responsibilities for communicating data processing purposes, practices, and associated privacy risks. It ensures that organizations transparently communicate their data processing activities to relevant stakeholders.
Protect-P: Securing Personal Data
In the realm of cybersecurity, Protect-P becomes pivotal. It offers guidance on securing personal data and protecting it from unauthorized access. The emphasis on encryption and secure storage lays the foundation for robust data security measures.
Selecting Profiles & Implementing a Privacy Program
Profiles represent a selection of specific functions (along with categories and subcategories) that an organization has prioritized to help it manage privacy risk and are typically used to describe the current state and the desired target state of specific privacy activities. The differences between current and target profiles enable an organization to identify gaps, develop an action plan for improvement, and gauge the resources that would be needed (e.g., staffing, funding) to achieve desired privacy outcomes.
Once profiles are identified, organizations can then choose which implementation tier is most applicable to their current situation and determine if they'd like to move up a tier in the future. The implementation tiers provide a way for organizations to evaluate their privacy program maturity and determine the best way to move forward.
Advantages of Following the NIST Framework
Alignment with Laws and Regulations
The NIST Privacy Framework is precisely what it claims to be: a framework. In that way, rather than being a restrictive set of rules that only causes more headaches on top of already strict privacy regulations, it can help organizations define reasonable steps to improve their existing privacy practices. In fact, the NIST Privacy Framework is agnostic to any one regulation or law and strategically designed to assist organizations in complying with the most relevant data privacy laws and regulations to them. By adopting the framework, organizations can align their practices with established industry standards and ensure heightened privacy protection and legal compliance.
Increased Transparency and Accountability
A side effect of the NIST Privacy framework being regulation-agnostic is that organizations can tailor the framework to its unique business, technological, and regulatory requirements. Rather than organizations having to create ad-hoc data privacy programs as new regulations are created, they can create programs that are scalable, more flexible and sustainable, and easier on employees. Having this kind of confidence in their privacy programs allows organizations to be forthright about their data collection and usage practices, not only strengthening their commitment to privacy but also fostering trust with stakeholders.
Facilitate NIST Privacy Framework Implementation with Fortra's Data Protection
In navigating the complexities of data privacy, the NIST Privacy Framework emerges as a valuable guide. While its comprehensive nature presents challenges, its advantages in improving privacy protection, ensuring compliance, and fostering transparency outweigh the potential hurdles. Organizations willing to invest resources in understanding and implementing the framework stand to benefit by fortifying their data privacy practices in an era where safeguarding sensitive information is paramount. Fortra's Data Protection products, including Data Classification, Digital Guardian DLP, and Digital Guardian Secure Collaboration, can help to strengthen your privacy programs without interrupting workflows, facilitating heightened data visibility and smoother compliance practices. Meet with one of our experts to assess your data privacy needs and we'll walk you through our world-class solutions.
