roundtable ... continued from previous page
Essomba: “What we need to do is show businesses the value of good cyber security, making them see how much protection they have and how much they can save as a result of having the right protection.”
Preparing for changes in data protection rules
Ben Neville Robert Lind
The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into force in May 2018 and will affect the way businesses store and process personal data. It’s not just data protection and hacking that preoccupy Moore Stephens’ corporate finance clients, noted Damian Ryan. “A big concern is the internet itself, which will undergo massive transformation in the next 10 years. First we had the information superhighway, then social engagement on the internet, where people don’t own the data they put out there. Next will come ‘blockchain’ types of decentralisation of that information, where companies collect data but users have more control of it.
“Digital companies also face the question of trust, with so much fake news, fake audiences and face user traffic out there. Engendering trust won’t be an overnight thing, but whatever the next phase is, trust has a large part to play.”
Nigel Kilpatrick
Kilpatrick agreed about the significance of the question of who owns data. “This will change over the next 10 to 15 years. Customers will tell us what information they want to give us.”
Ryan: “Once customers understand the value of the data they are handing over, they will want more control over it.”
Miles Hewitt-Boorman
Kilpatrick: “Data ownership will have an impact on the ‘internet of things’ that connects everyday technology to the cloud. It’s not about privacy but about consumer rights. In a way, things are about to change for the better for consumers but for the worse for businesses. It will be a big operational change, where no business will be unaffected by issues of privacy of data.
“You only have to think about things like CCTV capturing images of people, or when you visit a building and give personal information when you sign in. And as Marco pointed out, people don’t understand the problem. We are finding companies struggling to understand what cyber crime means. And we are seeing an uptake in cyber insurance, which is another huge area.”
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Essomba noted that businesses would only start to listen when regulation has bite, with fines and legal liabilities for directors. “That means we have to bring IT security to company boards. Giving control of data back to users will change the game completely as their consent and agreement will be needed.”
Neville didn’t think stopping employees using social media for work purposes was necessarily the right way to try and protect companies from hacking. “A knee-jerk reaction to the cyber crime threat is to lock down everything. Yes, you need to protect your intellectual property, but the key to what makes our company different is being visible and not being too risk averse. We don’t want to stop our employees using social media, as that cuts off an avenue of communication and the benefit of viral marketing.”
Sachiti picked up on Neville’s observation about companies blocking access. “We find that some big technology companies won’t accept documents as attachments in emails. This is because their systems have to be the same as those of their insurer in order to get cover, but that can mean they might not be able to receive documents you want to send if your systems don’t meet their security requirements.”
Companies face similar cyber security challenges using video conferencing, but attitudes appear to be slightly more favourable about the way data is being protected, thought Wilson. “In the past three years, there has been a massive change in attitude by many companies, who now accept that data kept outside their organisation can be safe and that security in the cloud is effective.”
Lind observed: “Marks & Clerk has always focused on securing data, especially around patents and intellectual property. Sometimes we think we are an IT firm we have so much focus on internet and data security.”
Improving online security
The discussion returned to the hot topic of cyber security and how businesses can protect themselves.
Wilson: “Evolution is inevitable. We have to come up with fixes to prevent the wrong kind of access. You can compare it to installing anti-virus software.”
Essomba: “We are now talking about states involved in cyber crime. It’s not just kids. We will be casualties if states attack companies.”
Neville: “Is this part of the classic evolution of technology in industry?
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – NOVEMBER 2017
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