Artificial intelligence (AI) has transformed from the hottest app release in history to a star player in doomsday scenarios to an assistive tool in daily life. AI-powered tech is now an expectation instead of an outlier. Here are some ways businesses are incorporating AI into their daily workflows, according to Forbes:

• Customer relationship management, 46%
• Digital personal assistants, 47%
• Inventory management, 40%
• Content production, 35%
• Product recommendations, 33%
• Accounting, 30%
• Supply chain operations, 30%
• Recruitment and talent sourcing, 26%
• Audience segmentation, 24%

A lot of data is required to achieve AI-powered status. It’s easy to forget that AI consumes and assimilates data even after launch, making it a weak link in data privacy. You could accidentally expose sensitive information just by using a day-to-day tool.

Data privacy isn’t a new concept. But the rapid deployment of AI tools has accelerated the discussion on formal privacy programs. As AI revolutionizes businesses, the demand for data privacy heightens.

The difference between a data privacy program and a data breach program

Information is the currency that drives economies worldwide, making data privacy crucial for individuals and organizations. As tech advances, businesses must keep pace with changing cybersecurity landscapes.

Cybercrime Magazine reports that global data storage may exceed 200 zettabytes in 2025. (For perspective, one zettabyte equals a billion terabytes or a trillion gigabytes.) Data security is a challenge, even for large enterprises.

A data privacy plan on top of a cybersecurity program might initially seem redundant. But data privacy is a separate concept from data breach prevention. Both aim to secure data, but they serve different purposes:

Data privacy

A data privacy program is a collection of policies and procedures your business implements to ensure the confidentiality and privacy of the information it collects, stores, processes and shares. A data privacy program focuses on how data is handled, where it’s stored and who can access it. Data privacy programs help you comply with laws like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

Data breach prevention

A data breach prevention program or cybersecurity program protects your business and client data from theft, damage and disruption. It’s broader than a data privacy program because it deals with all the data you’re responsible for. It could be client or proprietary data stored on your networks or in paper files offline. Data breach prevention strategies include training employees on cybersecurity, securing networks, encrypting data, and continuously monitoring and auditing your systems. Cybersecurity aims to prevent unauthorized access to data, and the disclosure, alteration, theft, or destruction of data.

Clients are concerned about their data privacy

Data privacy programs detail how you protect your clients’ privacy according to their wishes. Cybersecurity is an added layer covering your client data collection practices and your company’s data and systems.

Most states have laws protecting client data from exploitation and exposure to cyberattacks. You could be held responsible for data exposed in a cyberattack on your systems, leaving you open to lawsuits and fines. So, it’s best to understand your data collection and storage processes even if GDPR, CCPA and HIPAA don’t apply to you.

Data privacy isn’t just a regulatory requirement. It’s important for clients, too. According to a 2023 Pew Research Center report, How Americans View Data Privacy:

• 67% understand little to nothing about what companies do with their data.
• 77% have little or no trust in leaders of social media companies to publicly admit mistakes and take responsibility for data misuse.
• 81% say companies using AI will lead to personal information being used in ways they aren’t comfortable with.
• 72% favor more data privacy regulation than there is now.

The numbers favor being proactive about data privacy. In addition to compliance, a data privacy initiative could benefit your business image.

The good news is that cybersecurity and data go hand in hand, meaning your data privacy initiatives will improve with your cybersecurity program.

Evaluating your data privacy program needs

The deeper you dive into your data storage, the more complex the security models become. This can be overwhelming. But it doesn’t help to avoid it either.

Ignoring the data privacy issue could create legal liabilities even if you don’t think you have that much data.

Start by evaluating basic interactions with clients:

• Do you post ads on social media or your website to collect emails or other information? Some businesses do this to increase their leads and prospecting lists.
• Do you use assistive AI tools to generate emails, analyze information or summarize proprietary data?
• Do you use a chatbot on your website, apps or social media accounts?
• Do you collect sensitive data like credit card and Social Security numbers or health information?

Any of the processes listed above could create risk. Tackle your data exposure issue with an eye on risk management. Start by asking why you collect this data and if it’s necessary. If it is, how can you make your data collection practices transparent to your clients? And what are you doing to safeguard their data?

AI has created a greater need for data privacy programs

AI tools have increased the pace of data collection, processing and analytics. AI brings innovation but also increases data privacy risk.

Choose AI tools using Secure by Design (SbD) and Privacy by Design (PbD) principles. They embed security and privacy features into the technology:

• PbD minimizes data, informs users about data collection policies and obtains consent before processing personal data.
• SbD decreases the number of exploitable flaws in data before releasing it. Out-of-the-box solutions make additional security features like multifactor authentication, logging and single sign-on available at no extra cost.

AI tools monitor other AI systems to test and improve their data privacy. They involve transparent AI systems that monitor and verify other AI systems for fairness, accuracy and respect for user privacy.

Regulatory technology (RegTech) tools govern AI systems by monitoring their data collection practices and data management systems to ensure they comply with privacy regulations.

Data privacy programs require a layered approach to managing the evolving risks.

Elements of a data privacy program

Beyond compliance, privacy programs protect your reputation by ensuring your customer data is handled securely and as intended. Enlist your marketing and IT teams to assess the state of your data privacy. Your program should include:

• A privacy team or a data privacy consultant
• A privacy impact assessment (Learn how the Department of Homeland Security handles its impact assessments.)
• Privacy-related policies and procedures
• Privacy awareness training programs
• Tools to protect data privacy, like privacy management software, data mapping tools, encryption technologies and data anonymization tools
• A process for responding to privacy incidents (This could be part of your cybersecurity incident response plan (IRP). Visit the FBI’s website for more information on IRPs.)

Privacy programs provide businesses with a systematic approach to managing sensitive data responsibly and legally. As AI adoption grows, the focus on data privacy will only intensify. Stay ahead of the curve and build a data privacy program worthy of your clients’ trust.