Why Is It Essential to Choose a Secure Email Verification Provider?
Choosing a secure email verification provider is essential because your company has a personal and legal obligation to protect sensitive customer data. Subscribers and clients only agree to share their data with your company, and risking their privacy can potentially violate national and international privacy regulations. Attackers may be able to access your email list data and use their information for spam and phishing scams.
In addition, attackers who target an unsecure email verification platform can link your company with your email list data. Your company and email domain may become a prime target for spammers to use when selecting a domain to impersonate to appear legitimate. Your customers may mistake illegitimate emails as being from your team, causing you to lose your audience's trust.
What legal consequences are there for not securing customer email data?
The legal consequences of sharing email address data without permission depend upon the address owner's location. Below are some digital personal data privacy laws to be aware of:
- California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA) - California residents have the right to know how a company uses and shares their data and must be able to opt out at any time. Punishment includes a fine for each instance of a violation.
- EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) - GDPR applies to any persons residing in the European Union. Businesses must obtain explicit consent to send messages, and the customer has the right to know how their data is shared and to have their data deleted at any time. Violating GDPR is a criminal offense, and punishments can result in severe fines
- Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) - Doctors, insurance companies, and any other healthcare-related business have one of the highest obligations to protect patient data. There are several financial and professional consequences if your business shares email data with a non-HIPAA-compliant email verification company.
A secure email verification provider builds customer trust
Any customer that places their data into your company's hands is putting their trust in your security. A violation of that trust traced back to your business will result in lost trust from those customers and any potential customers who learn about the security breach.
This rule applies not only to email address data but also to names, addresses, financial data, and any other sensitive information belonging to the customer. While the email verification provider may be responsible for the security breach, your company will suffer damage to its reputation.
It's strongly recommended to thoroughly research different email verification providers and inquire about their security and privacy practices. Choose an email verification company that values customer privacy as your business does.
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