What is the purpose of a Privacy Impact Assessment? Follow
A Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) is a type of structured review that an organization will use to evaluate how a project or system collects and stores personal data. It will include an analysis of any privacy risks with this process.
The purpose of a PIA is to attempt to identify any issues related to private data and to ensure compliance with privacy laws.
An effective PIA will:
- Evaluate the process of personal data in a system
- Identify any potential risks, including unauthorised access or unnecessary data collection
- Implement safeguards like encryption or access control
- Ensure transparency within the organization
PIAs are often a requirement of industry that deals with personal, private data. This includes every level of government, healthcare organizations, financial institutions and any other type of business that might be trusted to handle sensitive information.