{"id":2112,"date":"2012-03-22T15:27:00","date_gmt":"2012-03-22T21:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trustarc.com\/?post_type=resource&p=2112"},"modified":"2025-02-06T08:04:33","modified_gmt":"2025-02-06T14:04:33","slug":"mobile-data-privacy","status":"publish","type":"resource","link":"https:\/\/trustarc.com\/resource\/mobile-data-privacy\/","title":{"rendered":"Mobile Data Privacy: A Critical Component of Your Cybersecurity Strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Mobile Data Privacy: A Critical Component of Your Cybersecurity Strategy<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\t
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What is data privacy?<\/h2>\n

Data is one of a company\u2019s most valuable assets in today\u2019s business environment. Customer data fuels insights, product\/service development, personalized experiences, and relevant go-to-market strategies. Properly analyzed, the right data gives companies a competitive edge in efficiency and therefore, profitability.<\/p>\n

Websites, apps, social media platforms\u2026 these are all data wells, collecting and storing personal information about consumers to provide and customize services. This sensitive data covers many fields. It can be a consumer\u2019s name, location, contact information, medical records\u2026 and so much more. And it can relate to online or real-world interactions.<\/p>\n

Data privacy addresses the proper handling, storage, access, retention, changeability, and security of sensitive data.<\/p>\n

What laws govern data privacy?<\/h2>\n

Privacy laws such as Europe\u2019s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR<\/a>) regulate consumer data storage, sharing, and disclosure practices in today\u2019s digital economy. Implemented in May 2019, the GDPR claims to be the \u201ctoughest privacy and security law in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

And a company doesn\u2019t have to be based in Europe to be impacted by it. As long as your organization targets or collects data related to individuals in the EU, you must abide by GDPR regulations.<\/a><\/strong> Otherwise, you can expect penalties reaching into the tens of millions of euros \u2013 up to 4% of the offending company\u2019s annual turnover.<\/p>\n

The GDPR is large and far-reaching and has implications that may impact many areas of your company, including your marketing strategies. It\u2019s disrupting traditional business models and the way data value transfer works.<\/p>\n

Since the GDPR, other privacy laws have bloomed around the world. There are the Brazilian General Data Protection Law (LGPD)<\/a> and the Chinese Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL)<\/a>. And there are also a number of individualized laws around US states, like the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)<\/a>. Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia, and Utah have all created legislation similar to CCPA, and 11 other states have privacy bills in consideration.<\/p>\n

All of them aim to unify the multiple local privacy laws that regulate the processing of personal data. But their proliferation makes unification a challenge for any multi-jurisdiction organization, not least those companies that use mobile apps to communicate with customers.<\/p>\n

How does the rise of mobile apps impact data privacy?<\/h2>\n

The iPhone, the first connected mobile application platform, was introduced in 2007. In the ensuing decades, the devices have become ubiquitous. The average user has installed an average of 80 applications. Most apps communicate with both the phone user and the application developing company, providing personal information from the former to the latter.mobile app consent<\/p>\n

Some apps also interact with other apps, which creates a series of complex challenges for protecting user data and has led to a series of high-profile mobile data privacy breaches, where personal information provided by the user has been shared with unintended parties. A Google search of \u201cTikTok privacy issues\u201d responds with over 300 million hits.<\/p>\n

What is unique about mobile data privacy?<\/h2>\n

In its report on mobile device data privacy, the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA<\/a>) identified what makes mobile devices a unique challenge for data privacy:<\/p>\n