Deal firmly with cases of personal data breach – Business Daily
Data Commissioner Immaculate Kassait. PHOTO | NMG
The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) has lifted the lid on the extent of data breaches Kenyans are dealing with.
By September 2022, just months into the operationalisation of new data laws, the ODPC had received 1,030 complaints and had admitted 555 of the cases, representing more than half of them. It is not surprising that 54 percent of the cases admitted were complaints against digital lenders.
To this end, it is refreshing to note that the data commissioner has taken the fight to the doorstep of some 40 digital lenders, as she trains her guns on a sector that has caused Kenyans pain and embarrassing data breaches in recent years.
The data commissioner has put on notice the players under investigation and this should serve as a wake-up call to other offending institutions who continue to operate as if they are yet to appreciate the new data protection laws.
The Data Protection Act has already empowered the commissioner with the relevant tools to deal with rogue institutions that fail to protect and safeguard customer data from abuses.
Kenyans are therefore looking at the ODPC to fast-track the investigations and deal firmly with those found guilty to serve as a deterrent to errant firms.
Kenyans are giving out so much of their personal details to every building they visit, every job they apply for, every bank they open an account with and every hospital they visit.
They must be able to sleep soundly at night, knowing that their personal data is not going to be used to harm them.
