WASHINGTON, Jan. 16, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Data Privacy Day on January 28^th will convey the importance of data privacy and stewardship to digital citizens across the world and its official coordinator, the National Cyber Security Alliance, is calling on all corporations, organizations, governments and individuals to participate by respecting privacy and making the protection of privacy and data a priority.

Senators Rockefeller, Thune and eight other Senators are also encouraging government agencies, corporations and civil society to work together and protect the privacy of individuals in a newly introduced Data Privacy Day resolution highlighting the importance of promoting trust in technologies.

Data Privacy Day strives to educate the world about data privacy protection through its universal theme: Respecting Privacy, Safeguarding Data and Enabling Trust. The global effort is made successful through a flood of activities from more than 140 supporting organizations and individuals across the globe. Plans to celebrate Data Privacy Day have been made in numerous countries including Australia, Japan, India, Belgium and Canada. While here in the U.S., many colleges and universities, businesses and community organizations will celebrate Data Privacy Day in their own unique ways. A brief sampling of activities include:

• Data Privacy Day: Privacy in Motion—Mobile Devices & Privacy Issues, San Diego, CA (Jan. 28): Justine Phillips, attorney with Sheppard Mullin will lead an in-depth and educational discussion with leading privacy and security expert panelists from the California Office of Attorney General, FBI, Qualcomm, SDG&E, LARES Institute, Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, Identity Theft Resource Center, CyberTECH, MOFO, PalmChip and more.
• EDUCAUSE Data Privacy Webinar - Online Webinar (Jan 30): Privacy expert and publisher of Privacy Journal Robert Ellis Smith will join EDUCAUSE for a free webinar discussing the NSA data collection program.
• JIPDEC (Japan Institute for Promotion of Digital Economy and Community) PrivacyMark Forum 2014, Japan (Jan. 28): The PrivacyMark Forum will explore the latest trends in data protection in Japan and abroad. 2014 panel discussions will focus on "personal information" in a new age.

To learn more about these and other Data Privacy Day events visit: http://staysafeonline.org/about-us/events/.

NCSA will hold the flagship annual DPD event at The Pew Charitable Trusts in Washington, D.C. featuring the Federal Trade Commission's director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection, Jessica Rich as the keynote, followed by discussions with industry thought leaders who will explore topics like Respecting Consumer Privacy in a Big Data World, current research from the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project and Notice and Consent. Select panelists include: Brendon Lynch, chief privacy officer, Microsoft; David Hoffman, director of security and global privacy officer, Intel; Mary Madden, senior researcher, Pew Research Center's Internet & America Life Project; Stephen Cobb, senior security researcher, ESET North America; John N. Gevertz, global privacy officer and vice president, ADP, Inc.; Susan Grant, director of consumer protection, Consumer Federation of America and others.

"While we are thrilled about celebrating Data Privacy Day here in Washington, D.C. we're equally excited about all the other great events set to take place across the country and globe," said Michael Kaiser, executive director of NCSA. "DPD is made successful through its strong global community that works tirelessly throughout the year – not just on January 28^th – to make everyone aware of the importance of creating a culture of data protection and privacy."  

Other activities and information is readily available at NCSA's DPD Web Portal, which is a one-stop shop to get started participating in Data Privacy Day. Visitors can learn how to become a champion, get ideas for awareness activities and see events happening around the world at http://www.staysafeonline.org/data-privacy-day/. NCSA also will feature a Twitter Chat at 3 p.m. EST using hashtag #ChatDPD every Wednesday this January.

About Data Privacy Day
Led by the National Cyber Security Alliance, Data Privacy Day began in the United States and Canada in January 2008 as an extension of the Data Protection Day celebration in Europe. The Day commemorates the 1981 signing of Convention 108 – the first legally binding international treaty dealing with privacy and data protection. Intel and Microsoft are Leading Sponsors of Data Privacy Day while ADP, AT&T and ESET are Contributing Sponsors and Small Business Sponsors include AnchorFree, CyberGhost, PRIVATE WiFi, Reputation.com and SpiderOak. Follow DPD on Twitter and Facebook. The official hashtag of DPD is #DPD14.

About The National Cyber Security Alliance
The National Cyber Security Alliance is a non-profit organization. Through collaboration with the government, corporate, non-profit and academic sectors, the mission of the NCSA is to educate and empower a digital citizenry to use the Internet securely and safely protecting themselves and the technology they use and the digital assets we all share. NCSA board members include: ADP, AT&T, Bank of America, Comcast Corporation, EMC Corporation, ESET, Facebook, Google, Intel, McAfee, Microsoft, PayPal, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), Symantec, Trend Micro, Verizon and Visa. Visit www.staysafeonline.org for more information and join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/staysafeonline.

SOURCE National Cyber Security Alliance