On September 4, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced it has
initiated a collaborative project to develop a voluntary privacy
framework.
The framework is intended to help organizations manage the data
privacy risks they are now exposed to more than ever thanks to new
technologies. These technologies, such as artificial intelligence
and the “Internet of Things” offer businesses new
avenues to achieve increased growth and efficiency, but their use
of detailed data and the complex environments in which they run
pose a real challenge to data security.
The proposed privacy framework is significant for several
reasons. First, the NIST cybersecurity framework issued a few years
ago has had a significant impact on how cybersecurity is reviewed
and measured and has been popular and influential with legislators
and regulators.
