A Medical Device Daily

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the California Office of Privacy Protection (COPP) will co-host a half-day public workshop in Los Angeles on Aug. 13 on how businesses can secure personal information and protect the privacy of consumers and employees.

The workshop, "Protecting Personal Information: Best Practices for Business," is presented in partnership with the International Association of Privacy Professionals and the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce.

It features business people, attorneys, government officials, privacy officers, and other experts who will provide practical guidance for businesses of all sizes on data security, privacy, best practices for developing an appropriate data security program, and responding to data breaches and other privacy and security problems.

The FTC and COPP will provide a brief overview of the business and legal reasons to address data security.

One panel will discuss steps and strategies for developing a data security plan, while a second will address best practices for responding to data breaches.

The workshop follows a recommendation from the President's Identity Theft Task Force, co-chaired by the chairman of the FTC, which called on federal agencies to improve their efforts to educate the private sector on safeguarding consumers. A report issued by the Task Force recommended regional seminars to help small businesses and others in the business community understand the importance of safeguarding information, preventing and reporting data breaches, and assisting identity theft victims.