Securing Data in the Age of Stringent Privacy Laws: The Importance of Creating a Data Catalog

Data security is a crucial issue for any organization that collects, stores, and processes personal or sensitive information. With the increasing number of cyberattacks and data breaches, organizations need to be vigilant and taking charge in safeguarding their data assets. One of the procedure to do this is to follow the best practices and standards of data privacy and security, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union. Australia is in the path to follow GDPR style privacy laws and due to this there is going to be huge penalties for the organizations that do not have control over their data. This includes knowing where the data resides and classifying the data and applying appropriate controls for safeguarding it from bad actors.

Lets take the first step

The very first step that organizations need to take to safeguard their data is to create a data catalog. A data catalog is a comprehensive inventory of all the data sources, data sets, and data elements in an organization, along with their metadata, such as definitions, descriptions, formats, types, owners, locations, and relationships. A data catalog helps organizations to understand what data they have, where it is stored, how it is used, and who is responsible for it. A data catalog also enables organizations to identify and classify their sensitive or personal data, such as customer names, email addresses, credit card numbers, health records, etc. By creating a data catalog, organizations can improve their data quality, governance, compliance, and security. Moreover, a data catalog can help organizations to respond quickly and effectively in case of a security breach, by allowing them to know which systems are affected and what actions need to be taken.

Challenges in creating data catalog

However, creating a data catalog is not an easy task. There are various challenges that organizations face in this process. Some of the technical challenges are:

• The complexity and diversity of data sources and formats. Organizations may have data stored in different systems, such as databases, files, cloud services, web applications, etc., each with its own structure, schema, and format. This makes it difficult to collect and integrate the metadata from these sources into a unified data catalog.
• The lack of standardization and documentation of data. Organizations may not have consistent or clear definitions, descriptions, or labels for their data elements. This makes it hard to understand the meaning and context of the data and to ensure its accuracy and validity.
• The dynamic and evolving nature of data. Organizations may constantly create, update, delete, or move their data across different systems or platforms. This means that the metadata in the data catalog needs to be updated frequently and automatically to reflect the changes in the data.

Some of the non-technical challenges are:

• The lack of awareness and collaboration among stakeholders. Organizations may not have a clear vision or strategy for creating a data catalog. They may also lack the necessary skills, resources, or tools to do so. Moreover, they may not have effective communication or coordination among different departments or teams that are involved in or affected by the data catalog.
• The resistance or reluctance from business users. Organizations may face some challenges in getting the buy-in and support from their business users for creating a data catalog. Some business users may not see the value or benefit of a data catalog for their work. They may also be concerned about the privacy or security of their data or the impact of the data catalog on their existing workflows or processes.

Overcoming these challenges

These challenges can be mitigated by working closely with the business users and giving them confidence. Organizations can do this by:

• Educating and engaging them on the importance and benefits of a data catalog for their work and for the organization as a whole.
• Involving them in the design and development of the data catalog, by soliciting their feedback, input, or suggestions on how to improve it.
• Providing them with easy-to-use and user-friendly tools and interfaces to access and interact with the data catalog.
• Ensuring that the data catalog complies with the relevant laws and regulations on data privacy and security and that it respects the rights and preferences of the data owners.

Conclusion

In summary, creating a data catalog is a vital step for organizations to safeguard their data from cyber threats and to comply with the emerging privacy laws. However, creating a data catalog is not a simple or straightforward task. It requires careful planning, execution, and maintenance. It also requires collaboration and cooperation among various stakeholders within and outside the organization. By overcoming these challenges, organizations can create a robust and reliable data catalog that can help them to manage and secure their data assets effectively.