Competing in a Data-driven World

Data has become an integral asset for the business world and our society. With sophisticated technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things bound to becoming a part of our daily lives, businesses must stay ahead of the game in the digital landscape. According to a recent IDC whitepaper, it is estimated that by 2025, every connected person in the world on average will have a digital data engagement of over 4,900 times per day – as compared to 584 times per day in 2015.

Cybersecurity

As data collected by businesses may directly allow an individual to be identified or profiled, concerns have been raised about our privacy in a data-driven world. This is partially driven up due to the media exposure of cybersecurity breaches and intelligence scandals. The rapid rise of mobile transactions, micropayments, and connected sensors in both private and public field is foreseen to aggravate this pressure.

Even sizable and prestigious companies who spent millions on cybersecurity could not avoid security breaches. In early this year, more than 540 million records of Facebook users were exposed on Amazon’s cloud computing service. Marriott hotel chain also encountered cyberattack in 2018 with a leakage of 500 million records of guests’ personal details. In fact, Gartner predicated that the backup and archiving of personal data will represent the largest area of privacy risk for 70% of organisations by 2020, up from 10% in 2018.

Compliance on Data Protection

On 25 May 2018, the European Union (EU) implemented a new set of rules on data protection and privacy called the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It aims to simplify the regulatory environment for both citizens and businesses in the EU to benefit from the digital economy. Under the terms of GDPR, not only do organisations have to ensure that personal data is gathered legally and under strict conditions, but those who collect and manage it are obliged to protect it from misuse and exploitation. Failure to comply with GDPR can result in a fine ranging from EU10 million to four per cent of the company’s annual global turnover, depending on the severity of the breach and the company’s effort in ensuring compliance. Just within the first year of implementing GDPR, USD63 million fines were issued.

The GDPR put a large spotlight on data protection and this has changed the landscape of data protection. The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) was signed into law shortly after in June 2018. There are many countries and cities expected to follow in the CCPA’s footsteps with similar legislation.

According to estimates compiled by International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) and EY, the total spending on GDPR preparations between Fortune’s Global 500 amounts up to nearly USD7.8 billion. Over 500,000 data protection officers were employed.

Preventive Tools for Cybersecurity

Many tools are available in the market to combat the rising cyberattacks cases. One such solution is AppScanOnline, an online scanning service that equips mobile application developers with an efficient tool to check for cybersecurity vulnerabilities of their mobile applications. Security teams can get a detailed report compliant with both OWASP Top 10 and Taiwan Industrial Development Bureau (IDB) mobile app standards, allowing developers to address vulnerabilities earlier, thus bringing their applications to market sooner.

Today, AppScanOnline is giving trials to readers worth USD 99 that includes a complete report and an endorsement certificate. The offer is exclusively available only for first time users. Just apply code “FREE99” to enjoy the promotion!

About BlackStorm Consulting

BlackStorm Consulting (http://blackstormco.asia/) is a boutique growth consultancy firm that specialises in corporate strategy, profit management and investment management. We mainly serve clients in four sectors: FinTech, Gaming, Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT), and manufacturing.

Our clients and connections are internationally present and range from small and medium sized businesses, MNCs, to government agencies.