Privacy and Cybersecurity Pitfalls

The proliferation of open data is a double-edged sword, however. It is reliant on the open exchange of individual, behavioural and transactional information. As datafication has grown, so have concerns among consumers – and regulators – over the privacy and control of personal data. Almost three quarters (74%) of people feel they have little control over how their data is used.3 Massive data breaches at the likes of Facebook and Microsoft (which affected over half a billion accounts) will have done nothing to reassure them. If they don’t like what’s happening to their data, consumers are willing to vote with their feet – as WhatsApp found at its cost. The messaging app shed users to competitors Signal and Telegram after announcing that it would share their data with parent company Facebook.12 So where could this take us? Innovations such as personal online data stores could become mainstream in the next five years, enabling customers to take control of their own data. Information on their browsing habits, purchases and media-streaming history could be locked inside an individual ‘data safe’, with owners granting permission for companies to access to it for specific purposes.13 Regulation will also drive change. In recent years, leading tech companies have received huge fines for data breaches. The EU has proposed sweeping new rules governing how technology firms operate. And in the US, there’s an appetite on both sides of the political divide to regulate the sector – once more surfacing the threat of breaking up Big Tech companies. As organisations increasingly exchange data to enrich customer experiences, they will come under mounting pressure to be transparent, purposeful and trustworthy. Customers want to understand why their data is needed, how it’s being used and secured, and what they’re getting in return. Businesses will need to make the value exchange clear and compelling. Increasingly over the next five years, customers will want to know how their data is used and what they’re getting in return. But here, too, lies an opportunity. How companies handle and protect customer data can be a point of competitive differentiation. Apple puts data privacy and protection at the heart of its value proposition. Its commitment to privacy and security has shifted the essence of its brand promise, from cool tech and slick user experiences to trusted data steward. This gave the firm the licence to launch its digital wallet, Apple Pay, and partner with banking giant Goldman Sachs to issue its branded credit card. The result: additional revenue streams for a digital business that’s already firmly among the winners. But there’s another threat on the rise. The growth of open data and data portability means that the scale and sophistication of cyber threats are at an all-time high. And they will only intensify. Examples are everywhere. Hackers accessing Amazon Alexa and Google Home, listening to conversations, and misleading users into handing over sensitive information does little to settle the nerves.14 Increasing numbers of devices, greater volumes of sensitive data and increased connectivity all exacerbate the cybersecurity challenge. The risk of compromise, and the value at stake, are higher than ever.

11 Ponemon Institute: Privacy and Security in a Digital World 12 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-55634139 13 World Economic Forum: A New Paradigm for Business of Data 14 ZDNet: “Alexa and Google Home devices leveraged to phish and eavesdrop on users, again”.