California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)

 

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) is a privacy law that was enacted in the state of California, United States in 2018 and became effective on January 1, 2020. The CCPA aims to protect the personal information of California residents and gives them certain rights over their personal information collected by businesses.

Under the CCPA, California residents have the right to know what personal information businesses collect about them, the right to request that their personal information be deleted, the right to opt-out of the sale of their personal information, and the right to non-discrimination for exercising their privacy rights. Businesses must also disclose their data collection and sharing practices and provide California residents with certain notices and disclosures.

The CCPA applies to businesses that meet certain criteria, including those that have annual gross revenues of over $25 million, buy or sell the personal information of 50,000 or more California residents, households, or devices per year, or derive 50% or more of their annual revenue from selling California residents' personal information.

If a business outside of California meets any of these criteria, it may be subject to the CCPA's requirements. Additionally, some businesses outside of California may choose to comply with the CCPA as a best practice for protecting their customers' privacy, even if they are not legally required to do so.

To enable cybersecurity controls to be compliant with the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), a business should consider taking the following steps:

1. Conduct a cybersecurity risk assessment: The first step is to identify and assess the cybersecurity risks associated with the personal information that the business collects and processes. This should include an assessment of the security of the systems, networks, and applications used to collect, store, and process personal information.
2. Implement appropriate cybersecurity controls: Based on the risk assessment, the business should implement appropriate cybersecurity controls to protect the personal information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. This may include implementing technical measures such as encryption, access controls, and firewalls, as well as organizational measures such as policies and procedures for data protection and incident response.
3. Train employees on cybersecurity and privacy: Employees should be trained on cybersecurity best practices and the requirements of the CCPA to ensure they are aware of their responsibilities for protecting personal information and how to respond to security incidents.
4. Conduct regular vulnerability assessments and penetration testing: The business should regularly assess the effectiveness of its cybersecurity controls through vulnerability assessments and penetration testing to identify and address any vulnerabilities in its systems.
5. Implement incident response procedures: The business should have a clear incident response plan in place that outlines the steps to be taken in the event of a cybersecurity incident involving personal information.
6. Engage with third-party vendors: If the business shares personal information with third-party vendors, it should ensure that these vendors have appropriate cybersecurity controls in place to protect the information in accordance with the CCPA.

By taking these steps, a business can implement effective cybersecurity controls to protect personal information in compliance with the CCPA.