What is a Data Retention Policy?

A data retention policy is a set of guidelines outlining how long a company or organization should store and retain sensitive customer data. In Washington, data retention policies are regulated by data security laws, which define how long personal and financial data should be kept in order to protect customers’ privacy. Data retention policies are important for companies to ensure they follow best practices when it comes to storing customer data. For example, the Washington Data Security Act requires organizations to retain customer data for a minimum of five years after a customer’s account has been closed. This ensures that the customer’s data is not lost and can be accessed if needed. Data retention policies also help organizations protect customer data from potential hacks, data breaches, and other cyber security incidents. By limiting the time customer data is stored, organizations can limit the amount of data that can be stolen in the event of an attack. Data retention policies also outline the procedures that companies need to follow to properly dispose of customer data. For example, the Washington Data Security Act mandates that companies must securely delete customer data within five days of a customer’s account being closed. This ensures that customer data will not be accessible to unauthorized users. Overall, data retention policies are an important part of data security and help protect customer data by defining how long customer data should be stored for and outlining the proper procedures for disposing of customer data. By following these policies, companies in Washington can ensure they are in compliance with data security laws.

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What is a Data Retention Policy?

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