As numerous industry and regulatory trends continue to converge, 2012 promises to be a watershed year for online commercial data security and privacy.  Companies could be forced to change how they store and use customers’ personal information.  At the least, businesses must ensure they have robust processes and systems in place to protect private data.

Here are the top five issues to keep a close eye on in 2012:

• Cyber Security: Cyber security will be a central concern for businesses in every industry.
• Legislative and Regulatory Actions: Online data privacy has captured the attention of policymakers in Washington and at the state level.
• Navigating U.S. Privacy Regime and the Rest of the World: More countries are adopting privacy laws in line with the European Union model, which focuses on the privacy interests of the individual.
• Cloud Computing Will Continue to Raise Privacy Concerns: Cloud computing enhances the ability to collect and centrally store consumer data and to share that data with third parties.
• Location-Based Services Will Likely Grow and be of Greater Concern: Location-based services pinpoint geographic locations via mobile devices and are increasingly being used in e-commerce.