Commentary: 50% off? What you unwittingly give up for a few freebies
SINGAPORE: Your favourite online shop is giving out a 50 per cent disbelieve in exchange for you subscribing to an e-newsletter. Information technology's enticing, so you share your total proper name, e-mail address and mobile number.
A few months later, the store has reportedly been hacked and you are notified that your personal information has been stolen.
What do you do now and whose error is it?
Nobody wants to take responsibility for data. Sometimes, as the original source of data, it is up to consumers to be conscientious about what they share. Other times, organisations detect themselves taking the rut for not putting plenty protections in place.
Earlier this year, the European union (EU) tried to simplify data protection by pulling the plug on complicated legal jargon and long terms and conditions for services. New privacy laws under the General Information Protection Regulation require businesses to ensure that their terms are easily understood by the human on the street.
Just are laws like this enough?
Protecting data and ensuring it is used responsibly is akin to a relay race – while businesses somewhen receive the data responsibility baton, the race begins when consumers provide admission to their personal information.
READ: What those 'updates to our privacy policy' mean for Singapore, a commentary
CONVENIENCE VERSUS PRIVACY
All parties involved in the exchange and use of personal information have a part to play. Information technology's fourth dimension to take the fact that consumers are responsible for protecting information too.
This is our information and nosotros have the power to brainstorm this race potent.
Life becomes incredibly convenient when we provide personal information to companies. Google Assistant turns on the ac before you get habitation, Amazon reminds you of your grocery list, and Zalora updates you when your wish-list items are on sale.
But at what point should you draw the line between choosing convenience over privacy?
Answering this question is elementary – if sharing information means risking your privacy, then think twice. Privacy should non be negotiated for convenience.
For case, a chatbot on your telco provider'southward website tin can help to solve a technical result much faster than having to call their helpline. However, if the solution requires access to information such as identification numbers or credit menu details, information technology is probably ameliorate to call and speak to a client service officeholder instead.
We also often sacrifice our privacy for entertainment, simply every bit we practise with third-party apps on Facebook. In the past, these apps had access to our full names, friends list and other public information on our profiles – making people susceptible to identity theft.
While Facebook has enhanced their third-party data accessibility rules, we should yet be aware of what has been (or nonetheless is being) shared. Nosotros tin can showtime by managing the hundreds of apps that nosotros've unconsciously shared information with over the by few years in the settings page of our Facebook account.
The process might have a while, but the pick needs to be made: Take activity now or potentially be the victim of identity theft in the future.
READ: Social media information gatherers should be regulated similar fiscal advisers, a commentary
SUPPORT FROM BUSINESSES AND GOVERNMENTS NEEDED
Customer information and insight is a key ingredient for business organisation success in today's digital age. Companies use data to create seamless customer experiences and go along users coming back. To get together this information, online giveaways and promos have become mutual tactics.
However, there is another vital ingredient too. And that's trust.
A recent survey found that 68 per cent of Singapore consumers would spend more money with organisations they feel can be trusted to look later on their data.
Data protection has go the new benchmark for customer loyalty and businesses can only succeed by investing in defences to better protect data.
Cybersecurity has become just a fraction of the information protection pie, with the rest constituting of information privacy policies, the anonymisation of data and effective information direction to understand the vulnerability of diverse data sets.
READ: The four mortiferous cybersecurity sins most of us are guilty of, a commentary
To go along the unabridged ecosystem in cheque, consistent regulations and standards likewise need to be put in place.
The General Data Protection Regulation law is one that was introduced to address this issue, governing the use, accessibility and memory of data.
While regime intervention in the apply of technology is necessary, it also creates a greater challenge for businesses aiming to go digital, highlighting the need for a balance betwixt enabling the apply of new technologies and doing so responsibly.
Singapore leads the Asean region in being a "mod regulator", specifically in the banking industry.
In 2016, the Budgetary Potency of Singapore was one of the first government agencies in the globe to institute a FinTech regulatory sandbox, allowing financial institutions to test their innovations responsibly in a safe environment, creating a win-win outcome for both the public and private sector.
Businesses and governments essentially run the final leg in the data responsibility relay race. The baton cannot slip from their hands.
READ: Assume all organisations volition be hit by cyberattacks at some betoken, a commentary
WINNING THE DIGITAL RACE, TOGETHER
The frequent cyberattacks we read about may seem disheartening in the road to successfully protecting data. Thankfully, in that location are good forces across the globe, working to accelerate our success in the digital economy.
Increasingly, technology alliances are emerging to collectively assistance consumers and organisations use data responsibly.
READ: SingHealth information breach should give us pause to think what else might exist vulnerable
READ: Stop playing the blame game in a cybersecurity alienation, a commmentary
A adept instance is the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a non-turn a profit system defending civil liberties in the digital globe by providing consumers with multiple tools to share data responsibly.
EFF introduced the Privacy Badger, a free browser add-on to stop advertisers and other third-party trackers from secretly tracking individuals' online behaviour. The collaborative use of technology, including tools such as advanced analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning, tin all contribute to strengthening our defences too.
Creating a globe where anybody recognises their role in using data responsibly is non an easy undertaking. However, forcefulness lies in numbers.
It is time to stop the blame game and create an ecosystem of trust and accountability amongst all stakeholders – businesses, governments and the public. A collaborative force volition accelerate the ultimate goal of creating a safer digital world.
Just every bit Henry Ford once said:
If anybody is moving forrad together, then success takes care of itself.
Alex Kwiatkowski is Senior Industry Consultant, Global Banking Practice at SAS.
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