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Anything connected to the internet — from smartphones to power plant controllers — can be manipulated. — Photo: © DJC
We are freely giving away a lot of our data. From some this is an invasion of privacy; for others it is a rich stream of business-worthy information. Digital Journal presents two contrasting perspectives.
Need to protect consumer privacy
Gen Z spends at least four hours a day on social media, and companies are hoarding their data. This leaves the data open to firms collecting it and asking their systems to analyse it. Just how can AI use it?
Looking into this issue of data loss, for Digital Journal, is Aaron Mendes, CEO and co-founder of PrivacyHawk. Mendes says that people shoildnot be so free with their data and that individuals need to control their exposure.
According to Mendes: “Data brokers expose personal information about people’s location, place of work, social media, phone, and much more. AI can search with unparalleled speed to find ten people who are highly likely to be easy targets to have their emails or bank account information compromised, combining this data with AI models to devise a strategy for stealing it from them.”
With the application of AI, Mendes notes specifically: “Many AI models are trained on data that might contain sensitive personal information. Even when the model isn’t intended to target individual people, bad actors can repurpose the model for malicious purposes.”
Of particular concern are: “Generative AI models can also create highly effective plans for malicious attacks and fraud based on personal information and combine them with other tools to discover vulnerabilities. “
In terms of the best response, there may be a role for government. Yet: “While regulations can help, individuals must also reduce their exposures on the Internet and opt out of databases where these AI models are gobbling up massive data sets of personal information” , states Mendes.
How businesses can adapt and keep the information channels open
An example of a regulatory approach to privacy comes in the form of the Texas Legislature passing the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act. Looking into what this entails is Eric Andrews, VP of Marketing at Securiti.
Andrews explains how the regulation has come to pass: “Privacy continues to be a key concern for consumers across the nation, and in lieu of a national policy, we continue to see a series of state-specific regulations being proposed and adopted. These rules are key to protecting an individual’s rights to their data and ensuring companies handle personal data responsibly”
If signed into law, the Act would take effect on July 1, 2024.
While the consumer may benefit, the business world is taking unsteady steps. As Andrews finds: “However, the proliferation of these new data privacy laws also presents a challenging and complex compliance landscape for businesses, as they need to adapt to the requirements of each successive law. Navigating which laws apply, factoring in user residency, data location, global and statewide obligations, and more can be daunting.”
Yet businesses need to get up-to-speed otherwise there are penalties to be faced: “Failure to comply can result in huge loss such as consumer trust, class-action lawsuits, and hefty fines.”
In terms of how to respond, Andrews recommends: “Organizations must implement a solution capable of complying with a myriad of data privacy legislations efficiently. To keep up with the ever-growing complexity of managing data risk in this digital era, businesses must strive for an integrated, automated approach to data privacy, rooted in a profound understanding of the data owner and their personal data. This will streamline data protection obligations and automate incident responses to make decisions following applicable laws.”
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