= The first step when establishing a new data protection program that must comply with applicable data privacy regulations is to create an inventory of systems where personal data is stored. Personal data is any information that relates to an identified or identifiable natural person, such as name, address, email, phone number, identification number, location data, biometric data, or online identifiers. Data privacy regulations are laws and rules that govern the collection, processing, storage, transfer, and disposal of personal data, and that grant rights and protections to the data subjects, such as the right to access, rectify, erase, or restrict the use of their personal data. Examples of data privacy regulations are the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in the United States, and the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) in Singapore. Creating an inventory of systems where personal data is stored is essential for the data protection program, because it helps to:

Identify the sources, types, and locations of personal data that the organization collects and holds, and the purposes and legal bases for which they are used.

Assess the risks and impacts associated with the personal data, and the compliance requirements and obligations under the applicable data privacy regulations.

Implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect the personal data from unauthorized or unlawful access, use, disclosure, modification, or loss, such as encryption, pseudonymization, access control, backup, or audit logging.

Establish policies, procedures, and processes to manage the personal data throughout their life cycle, and to respond to the requests and complaints from the data subjects or the data protection authorities.

Monitor and review the performance and effectiveness of the data protection program, and report and resolve any data breaches or incidents.

References = CISM Review Manual, 16th Edition, Chapter 3: Information Security Program Development and Management, Section: Data Protection, pages 202-2051; CISM Review Questions, Answers & Explanations Manual, 10th Edition, Question 71, page 662.