Cybersecurity Awareness Month

Published: Oct 29, 2024

October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and it is a great time to brush up on best practices to better protect your personal information.   Californians enjoy the strongest privacy rights in the nation. By exercising your rights you can better protect your privacy online, which makes you less susceptible to cybersecurity threats. You have many privacy rights, including the right to know what personal information businesses have about you and the right to delete your personal information, with some exceptions. 

Exercise your Right to Delete  

An important aspect of your privacy rights is the right to delete. This right allows you to contact businesses directly and ask them to delete personal information they have collected from you.  If a business covered under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) refuses to delete your personal information, you can file a complaint with the CPPA. The CPPA investigates complaints and can take appropriate action against a business in violation of the CCPA. 

Use an Opt-Out Preference Signal (OOPS) 

Another important privacy right you have is the right to opt-out of the sale and sharing of your personal information. California law requires businesses that sell or share your personal information to notify you of this right before or at the time they collect your personal information and give you the opportunity to opt-out. You can opt-out one business at a time by indicating your privacy preferences on each businesses’ website, but this can be time consuming and burdensome. That’s where OOPS comes in.   An OOPS, such as Global Privacy Control, is a browser tool you can use to automatically send your opt-out preferences to every website you visit. When the OOPS is turned on, it broadcasts your opt-out preferences wherever you go online, reducing the amount of personal information that gets shared with other businesses. 

Cybersecurity Audit Regulations 

The CPPA has begun drafting regulations that would require businesses that meet certain thresholds, such as processing large volumes of personal information to perform annual cybersecurity audits.  Cybersecurity audits help businesses to identify and address cybersecurity vulnerabilities, motivate businesses’ senior leadership to invest in improving the business’s cybersecurity, and mitigate the negative impacts of unauthorized actions related to personal information. The draft cybersecurity audit regulations are part of a larger rulemaking package scheduled to be discussed at the November 8 CPPA Board Meeting. 

Stay Safe Online 

In addition to exercising your privacy rights, following cybersecurity best practices are great ways to help you stay safe online. The federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Safety Agency recommends these tips: 

  • Use strong passwords. 
  • Turn on multi-factor authentication. 
  • Recognize and report phishing. 
  • Update software. 

Protecting your personal information and staying safe online can be similar then you think. Understanding and exercising your privacy rights and following the tips above can help keep your personal information more secure.  It is important to stay vigilant; cybersecurity is a year-round priority. Stay informed throughout the year by subscribing to our email lists and following the California Privacy Protection Agency on X, LinkedIn, and YouTube