Technical Privacy Skills to learn in 2022

When it comes to digital technology and its particulars, one notion that we can all agree upon is that it has become the most dynamic space in recent times. Today, any reference made to technology is used in a manner synonymous with software or code-related technology due to the widespread use of digital services and products in everyday life.

Such extensive use of digital and virtual technology has promoted legislators around the world to enact privacy regulations to prevent any adverse effects of such use. Newer privacy regulations – including a proposed Data Protection Bill in India – are demanding customer contractual privacy obligations. They mandate organisations to employ privacy-by-design and privacy-by-default frameworks in their businesses, IT systems, networks and appliances.

These factors have led privacy skills to become the “hot skills” or the “must-have-skills” of 2022. Privacy professionals must work with various business teams, such as support functions, software developers, system and network engineers, application and database administrators, project managers etc., to build a privacy program and fuse it into a company’s existing business and technology environments. It is here that technical privacy skills come into play.

Classification of Privacy professionals:

Most privacy professionals can be classified into the following categories –

Legal/Compliance: Personnel with knowledge of privacy laws and regulations that apply to an enterprise.
Technical: Experts in technology who help an organisation achieve its privacy objectives.
Techno-legal: Persons proficient in both the technical and legal aspects of privacy compliance.

What are the career opportunities available for privacy professionals?

A person in this profession can be employed in a range of diverse roles in this area, some of which are:

Data Protection Officer
Cybercrime Investigator
Chief Privacy Officer
Chief Information Security Officer
Security Consultant
Security Administrator
Penetration Tester
Security Software Developer
Security Specialist
Security Architect
Risk Manager
Security Engineer

Internationally Recognised Certificates for Privacy Professionals

Various internationally accredited certifications can help build a career in data privacy, protection, and security. The International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) is the largest and most comprehensive global information privacy community providing certifications such as CIPP/E, CIPT, CIPM, etc. Certificates like Data Protection Officer offered by Tsaaro Academy, an IAPP Official Training Partner, can help an aspiring privacy professional gain the relevant skills required to launch a career as a Data Protection Officer. Such a role would require you to have a Data Protection Officer Certification and CIPM to showcase the necessary training and expertise needed to handle such a position.

Current Market Requirements:

At the moment, the industry is understaffed in the technical roles associated with privacy, and the demand for professionals in the field is only expected to increase over the upcoming year. The following are some of the critical highlights of ISACA’s Privacy in Practice 2022 survey report:

63 % of global respondents anticipated increased demand for legal/compliance roles.
72 % expect more demand for technical privacy roles.
The top skills gaps in candidates included –
- 65 % in experience with different technologies and applications;
- 50 % in understanding the laws and regulations to which an enterprise is a subject;
- 50% in experience with frameworks and controls;
- 46% lacked technical expertise.

Additionally, the report also states that soft skills such as communication and leadership are also elemental in curating a successful career in this profession. The top technical privacy skills that are required are as follows:

Knowledge of local and global privacy laws

As per the Privacy in Practice 2022 survey findings, privacy professionals should also be able to demonstrate knowledge of local and global laws relevant to privacy, such as the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), US’ California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and India’s upcoming Data Protection Bill. Competent professionals can showcase their competency and deep understanding of the laws that govern the privacy and security arena. Knowledge of laws regulating data protection and privacy and essential certifications will enable privacy and security professionals to advise a company better in privacy-related matters.

Professional Certifications

Training and certification form an essential milestone in showcasing your competence. Several privacy teams take a considerable amount of time filling legal and technical privacy positions. The survey conducted by Privacy in Practice 2022 found that it took 22 % of the global respondents three to six months to fill in the technical privacy positions and 24 % of the same amount of time to fill in the legal privacy roles.

The reason for the requirement of such a long period to fill in these positions may be accredited to the lack of qualified applicants. When recruiting new privacy associates, hiring managers often look at candidates’ training and certifications to validate their expertise. Today, there are numerous technical privacy training and certification options available in the market that aspiring privacy professionals can consider taking up in 2022.

Technical Knowledge

Privacy professionals should be able to correctly interpret privacy rules, laws, and regulations into technical requirements. An Engineer or IT professional with sound technical knowledge of cloud security, data science, and analytics can help a company develop secure software and identify malware in its system. Such a person can also be made responsible for overlooking the storage, processing, and management of a company’s data. Therefore, professionals need to develop skills to implement privacy-by-design, privacy-by-default and privacy induction; conduct privacy impact assessments and risk assessments; conduct privacy internal and supplier audits; and address privacy breaches and manage incidents.

Although all career prospects in privacy do not require you to be a tech specialist, relevant experience in privacy governance, privacy architecture, data lifecycle and knowledge of technicalities of different software and security architecture designs will give you an essential edge over other competitors in the field.

Penetration Testing

As a security analyst, Penetration Tester, you are expected to identify the vulnerabilities in the system and protect it from possible hackers. Organisations look to hire penetration testers and ethical hackers to probe their systems for vulnerabilities. Professionals should also know their organisation’s privacy frameworks, including its privacy policy, processes and procedures, privacy notices, and privacy code for customers, suppliers and business partners. It is the customer’s contractual privacy obligation to conduct a comprehensive stability check of the company’s internal structure.

Security Analysis

An individual looking to start a career in privacy is expected to understand different types of security systems companies use and future breaches that a company may have to face. An IT professional must possess the necessary skills to minimise possible threats or attacks that could disrupt a company’s business functions. The Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (AICPA) Privacy Management Framework, the NIST Privacy Framework, ISACA’s COBIT (Control Objectives for Information and Related Technologies) Framework, The Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development Framework, OneTrust Privacy Governance Framework and the TrustArc-Nymity Privacy and Data Governance Accountability Framework are some of the privacy frameworks that professionals should be well acquainted with.

Training and Awareness

Understanding how to drive privacy education and awareness and build a strong privacy culture in one’s organisation is part of a professional’s overall competence. For those individuals pursuing technical privacy roles, cultivating knowledge and experience in privacy governance, regulations, frameworks, privacy-by-design, leadership, and communication will be as critical as ensuring that they develop crucial technical privacy skills.

How can we help?

Tsaaro Academy delivers excellent data privacy education and training. As an IAPP Official Training Partner, we seek to provide certifications and training for CIPP, CIPT, and CIPM and assist in acquiring hands-on experience through our consulting business at Tsaaro. We make it simple for privacy advocates to enter the data privacy field and overcome the worldwide talent gap with courses like Data Privacy Fundamentals and Data Protection Officer Certification. These courses will help you achieve the technical privacy skills required for a successful career in Data Privacy

We are industry leaders in privacy education, having taught over 500 people in the previous six months. We aim to increase this number every day because we recognise that each learner and professional is unique and provide numerous opportunities for them to interact with industry experts, share information about available jobs in the market, and assist with one-on-one interactions for guidance from trainers and experts.

Sign up for our training courses to prepare for your privacy journey in 2022!

Privacy Career Expert

Certified Data Protection Officer (CDPO) – Practitioner

Certified Data Protection Officer (CDPO) – India

Privacy Fundamentals Certification

ISO 27701- PIMS Lead Implementor

ISO 27701- PIMS Lead Auditor

Privacy Diploma Course

Diploma in Privacy

Tsaaro Courses

CEH (v12) – Certified Ethical Hacker Training

ISO/IEC 27001 Lead Auditor

CISM – Certified Information Security Manager

DSCI Course

DSCI Certified Privacy Professional (DCPP)

PECB Courses

ISO 27701 Introduction

ISO 27701 Foundation

ISO 27701 Lead Implementer

ISO 27701 Lead Auditor

PECB Certified Data Protection Officer

CDPSE Courses

Certified Data Privacy Solutions Engineer (Training)

Digital Personal Data Protection Bill

Privacy Career Expert

Certified Data Protection Officer (CDPO) – Practitioner

Certified Data Protection Officer (CDPO) – India

Privacy Fundamentals Certification

ISO 27701- PIMS Lead Implementor

ISO 27701- PIMS Lead Auditor

Privacy Diploma Course

Diploma in Privacy

Tsaaro Courses

CEH (v12) – Certified Ethical Hacker Training

ISO/IEC 27001 Lead Auditor

CISM – Certified Information Security Manager

DSCI Course

DSCI Certified Privacy Professional (DCPP)

PECB Courses

ISO 27701 Introduction

ISO 27701 Foundation

ISO 27701 Lead Implementer

ISO 27701 Lead Auditor

PECB Certified Data Protection Officer

CDPSE Courses

Certified Data Privacy Solutions Engineer (Training)

Digital Personal Data Protection Bill