It’s no secret that PII (or Personally Identifiable Information) is a hot-button issue right now. Whether it’s Meta’s recent fine from Ireland’s DPC, or Amazon’s fine from the GDPR last year, regulatory bodies are taking personal data seriously, and you should too. Last week’s Optus hack in Australia only serves to emphasize how important proper security is, and how vulnerable you can be.
Unfortunately, committing to handling customer data properly is one thing, ensuring that actually happens is another. Piggybacking tags can send data to companies you didn’t know about, or add cookies you haven’t approved. It’s important that you’re aware of the current state of your website’s data protection, and that you stay on top of changes before they cause problems.
The good news is, if you’ve got a DataTrue Enterprise subscription, you’ve got a number of tools for alerting you of privacy breaches, even if you haven’t thought about them yet. Whenever you run a Simulation test in DataTrue, it’s also scanning for PII, in addition to any tags you’ve specified.
If it determines that personal information is being shared with a third party, the test will fail and an alert will be sent to your team. You can then examine the results and determine if this is a true breach, or something you’ve approved. The system will remember your decision for future runs of this test, ensuring you aren’t constantly bombarded with false positives.
Of course, the real question is, “how does the system determine what’s PII?” The answer is Personas.
When you create a Persona in your DataTrue account, you set up as many fields as you like, including any information relevant to your customer journeys. Perhaps you’re planning to test the checkout process? A Persona with billing and shipping details ensures your tests have all the information they need. Once the Persona is created, just apply it to any Simulation test you like!
Notice that there’s a “Sensitive” checkbox next to each field. By checking this box, you can tell DataTrue that this information is, well, sensitive, and should trigger an alert if shared. Now you’re ready to test your customers’ experiences and make sure their private information doesn’t leave your site.
With DataTrue, you’re in control of your data. Tools like Personas, Sensitive Data Alerts, and scheduled tests help ensure that you know about potential issues before they can cause damage. Setting up these tools is straightforward and easy, and our team is ready to help with any questions or advanced implementations you may have. Don’t wait until a problem occurs, reach out to us and we’ll get you up and running!