Cyber Security
Trust - The New Face of Cyber Security
L by Manish Bahl Senior Director, Center for the Future of Work, Cognizant
et’s face it — as consumers, we don’t really think too hard about data security until something goes wrong. Despite the security risks, we happily go on sharing data online, downloading apps, uploading images, following free sites, and storing valuable documents in the cloud; this is because we prefer to focus on the benefits of such actions rather than the dangers involved. There is a widespread assumption that firms will leverage our personal data to provide highly tailored experiences that make us feel special. In fact, data is one of the intangible assets that account for as much as 84% of the market value of the organizations listed on the S&P 500 index. However, this era of extreme personalization has a dark side, in that we are more vulnerable than ever to online fraud or theft and data breaches. The recent ransomware attack, WannaCry, demonstrated that cyber security threats have already surpassed organizations’ capacity. The shocking reality is that 49% of businesses fell victim to cyber-based ransom attacks in 2016, and the costs of redressing cybercrime damage are set to hit a jaw-dropping $6 trillion per annum by 2021. In today’s ever more connected world, our data footprint is getting larger and larger; everything from wearables to home appliances, smartphones, and cars can now be synced. While this is a fantastic development, it means that a single security breach on one device can infect an entire network, as multiple devices are often interconnected on a home or business network. We have already seen reports of
50 | Australian Cyber Security Magazine
cyber-attacks launched through connected refrigerators and malicious e-mails sent via other household appliances. Even connected toys are not safe; a Chinese toy manufacturer recently admitted that the security of 6.4 million kids had been compromised by a massive data breach. As the IoT becomes ever more defined, it will be increasingly critical to win consumers’ trust; however, such a process will also become harder. This is illustrated by the fact that in a recent survey, 57% of Asia Pacific-based consumers said they would completely turn their back on a company if they were to suffer any breach of their data. Even worse, one-third of all consumers (or their family or friends) have reported that their personal data (credit card, bank details, health information, and so on) had been stolen or compromised in the last two years. A UK-centered telecom operator revealed that 157,000 of its customers’ personal details were targeted. Since October 2015, the firm’s share price has fallen by 27%, while it has seen a 4.4% drop in its market share of new customers in its home services segment. The impact of broken trust can be highly insidious; Forbes Insights noted that 46% of the organizations it surveyed had lost face in the eyes of the public, and had their brand value tarnished, due to a data breach. While it takes many years to gain customer trust and establish brand loyalty, it can all be obliterated in just one day, especially in the age of viral social media sharing. The depressing truth is that no single industry enjoys a