The Data Protection Commission (DPC) celebrated Data Privacy Day on 29th January, 2024, and Data Protection Week spanned from 29th – 31st January, 2024, under the theme: “Building Trust Through Data Protection”.

The Right to have privacy is globally accepted as a fundamental Human Right. Data Protection Week offers a valuable opportunity to inform and empower people [known as Data Subjects] in Ghana of their Rights under the Data Protection Act 2012 (Act 843), and how to exercise these Rights; including, seeking redress such as, compensation.

Here are some tips on Data Privacy

A. Know what is considered personal information:

Personal information is any information that can be used independently or with other information to identify an individual. These include;

• Name, address, and date of birth,

• Passport or driver’s license number

• Medical, criminal, or financial history

• Ethnic or racial origins

• Internet Protocol (IP) address, if it can be traced to an individual

• DNA, fingerprints, and voiceprints

To protect yourself, you should only share these and any other types of personal information, when necessary and only with trusted recipients.

B. Beware of Phishing

Phishing emails are used by cybercriminals to trick individuals into clicking on a suspicious link or downloading a malicious file to steal their data, install malware on their devices, and more.

To defend against these manipulative emails, you must:

• Avoid opening emails from unknown senders.

If you’re unsure of a sender’s legitimacy, you can contact them over the phone to investigate further.

• Never click on links in unsolicited emails

Unsolicited emails can take you to a phishing website or download malware onto your device.

• Don’t respond to emails asking you to provide confidential or personal data. No reputable organisation will ask for personal information by email.

If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is, so ignore any emails proclaiming that you’ve won a prize or are eligible to receive a special discount.

C. Vishing and Smishing attempts

Emails aren’t the only medium cyber criminals use to try and trick victims into handing over their personal information. Fraudsters will also use SMS (smishing) and voice messages (vishing) to trick users into giving up personal information.

For instance, an attacker might send an SMS message to an individual saying their payment details are about to expire, with a link prompting them to update. Then, if the user clicks on the link, they will be taken to a phishing website where the attacker harvests their details.

Employees can counter vishing and smishing attempts by never handing out personal information over the phone and never clicking on links included in unsolicited SMS messages.

Courtesy: GRIDCo MIS, in commemoration of the month-long Data Privacy Month.