Preparing for a new era in data privacy and protection

As forward-leaning companies accelerate their digital transformation efforts, data becomes both the outcome and input of their journey. Consequently, the volume of data grows at an unprecedented rate across hybrid cloud environments, making data a common asset for both users and organisations. As digital life takes shape and user privacy lives in data hubs, consumers have taken notice. Prodded by concerned citizens, governments have stepped in to mandate data privacy and security requirements for organisations that handle personal data. More than 100 countries globally have put legislation in place to secure the data within their geographical boundaries¹.

India, with the world's second-largest share of internet users, has also stepped up to make organisations more accountable for their data privacy and protection practices. The government passed the Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDP Act) in 2023, which sets obligations on organisations on how they collect, manage, and protect digital personal data.

The DPDP Act will mark a historic move by the Government of India, where data privacy and security are valued more than ever. Once the Act is notified by the Central Government to be effective, enterprises will be required to maintain a robust data security and privacy environment and provide individuals with more control over their personal data.

Enabling a strong cyber posture begins with securing access to the organisation. IBM offers a wide range of security software and services that can help enterprises defend against modern-day cyber threats. As the IBM X-Force 2025 Threat Intelligence Index points out, hackers now log into enterprises using stolen credentials instead of backdoor methods. This makes the hackers more evasive and requires organisations to have systems in place that can detect small deviations from regular behaviour to block suspicious activity. IBM offers broad and feature-rich identity and access management (IAM) solutions to help with these situations.

Next comes protecting the organisation’s data and applications. The Threat Intelligence Index also reports that data remains the most prized possession of these hackers because of its monetization potential. It then becomes imperative for the organization to have monitoring and control over the data. Securing data is inherently challenging because while data is visible to an authorised user, it should remain out of sight for an unauthorised user and be encrypted if it deviates from its intended use. In addition, enterprises need to have a complete understanding of where data is located, the type of data it is, and how it can be accessed. Organisations can use IBM Guardium solutions to help secure their data and meet their compliance requirements.

As the threat landscape continues to grow and hackers adopt sophisticated AI tools, enterprises must leverage equally sophisticated tools to defend themselves. That is why modern-day organisations are using AI to maximise their time and talent for defending against attackers. IBM offers an AI-enabled threat detection and response suite that can help security teams outsmart threats with speed, accuracy, and efficiency.