How can you protect data privacy in IT outsourcing?

I would also add that for highly sensitive information one could require that the outsourcer offers NIST 140-2 level 4 guarantees and applies the Keep Your Own Keys principle. If possible Full Homomorphic Encryption to avoid data leakage via memory dumps and in order to be future proof apply quantum-safe encryption algorithms.

When choosing an IT outsourcing partner, it's essential to pick a company with a good history of keeping data safe. Always ask them about their security methods to ensure they can defend against hackers. It's also wise to have a written agreement stating they must protect your data. Keeping a close eye on how they handle data and having regular chats about it can help too. And, of course, always keep a backup of your data just in case.

As I mentioned below the first step is knowing what your requirements are and incorporating them into the selection of the partner. All vendors will say they will protect your data however it is in the details of what that means to them vs what it means to your company that really needs to be understood. And of course you need to consider what happens if there is a breach or if how they will respond to a formal request to delete someone's information or notice from a governing body. Sharing data with a third party (including a third party having access to data on your environment should have a contract in place before any data is shared.

I actually think this should be the first step - what are you data privacy requirements, what are legal obligations will you be holding the vendor to, what insurance coverage will you require and how will you assess the vendor(s) against those requirements. If you pick an outsourcing vendor before you have documented your requirements, you run the risk of them not being able to meet your requirements or your costs going up greatly based on those requirements. In my opinion the data related concerns should be addressed in the master agreement and may require specific addendums to address country specific concerns.

All the elements called out should be part of your initial requirements and should be planned for in the contract and in the implementation of services/transition of services to outsourcer. There are costs on both your side and the vendor side for these requirements that have to be accounted for. Remember that is some cases you can't just stop working with a vendor, particularly in cases where they are doing mission critical work or services like payroll which can a great deal of time to implement. Both parties need plans for breaches and recovery and those plans should be reviewed at regular intervals to ensure the plans are current and the staff on both sides understand them.

Raising awareness about data privacy protection among outsourcing vendors' staff is an ongoing necessity. Yet, due to cultural and ethical differences, reiterating the importance of safeguarding data privacy for customers is paramount to their businesses. Monitoring how the vendors' staff handle computers, data, and project resources is crucial, and continuous reinforcement of adherence to project processes is required.

I believe Educating and training your staff on data privacy is critical regardless of outsourcing or not. In fact, your company's insurance coverage may require this type of training. When engaging with an IT outsourcing provider you need to understand what training they are providing, what training you can provide, frequency of training, what happens if someone fails training and who is paying for the training and the hours the Outsources staff spend in training. All of these requirements need to be reflected in the contractual arrangements you have with Outsourcer.

This step should happen when you are developing your requirements and going to market to find a provider. Don't wait until a third party is selected to engage with counsel and auditors. Bring them in upfront and keep them apprised and engaged along the entire selection/negotiations process.

Knowing what privacy laws apply, and what you have to do to comply with them should in my view be the first step. You can't do vendor diligence or draft contract provisions unless you know what your legal obligations and risks are.

Recently, many AI tools, like ChatGPT, are sopporting people in doing their works. It help a lot in the common writing also save time for review the results. However, it is risky that if someone copy and paste the data related to their project into the ChatGPT, or online tools. It will leak the idea or data that should not go public. We need to add such kind of awareness to everyone too.