Tag: data leak

Our recent research conducted in the Middle East, Turkiye and Africa (META) region, titled “Cybersecurity in the workplace: Employee knowledge and behaviour”, reveals key insights about AI use in South Africa. The study found that 72.5% of professionals surveyed in the country use Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools for their work tasks. However, only 30% have received training on the cybersecurity aspects of neural networks.

These are times of unprecedented change and disruption. New technological innovations and geopolitical events are just two of the major catalysts of change in the landscape of risk. In times of volatility, businesses are often faced with increased risk exposure, with opportunistic cybercriminals at the ready to exploit vulnerabilities and take advantage of loopholes.

Safeguarding your data is a business imperative. Regardless of size or industry, confidentiality is vital for maintaining the trust and positive public standing your organisation has earned. But, in an increasingly regulated and privacy-conscious world, the concerns around a misstep are not limited to your business’ reputation alone – between fines from data protection bodies and potential settlement fees, the fiscal impact of a data leak can be enormous

Impacts vary, but in many cases, ransomware disrupts businesses for significant periods or even forces them to suspend operations or close. A growing population of highly capable cyber extortionists is developing a new means to counter defences and increase the level of disruption they can inflict constantly.

With our lives essentially transferred to the digital world since last year, keeping our digital space safe and secure has become more important than ever. Recognition of the importance of online privacy led to the growth of privacy-focused products, yet many people remain confused about what dangers the exposure of personal data may lead to.

While the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) has been in effect for a while, most employers are still not grasping the far-reaching consequences the Act poses on how they collect, store and dispose of information. POPIA affects so many aspects of the business such as the information technology systems, customer processes and information handling practices. Therefore, POPIA cannot be ignored.

Whether the Protection of Personal Information (POPI) Act is law or not, data protection compliance has become good business practice, largely because of the reputational and financial risk. Recently, the Information Regulator approached South Africa’s President to issue a commencement date of 1 April 2020 for the remaining provisions of the POPI Act.

Anyone who has worked in marketing for more than a decade will agree that we’ve entered a Golden Age of information. We know more about our consumers, their transactions, preferences, spending habits, income and demographics than ever before, freely surrendered by the consumers themselves as they shop, bank and socialise online.

With the Digital Revolution in full swing, data is to business what oxygen is to mankind. It is a crucial resource – one that enables companies, especially smaller ventures, to make better business decisions, grow their customer base, keep their competitive edge and secure funding.

As the rate of identity theft accelerates, some have asked how information becomes available to companies and people pushing goods and services that an individual has no knowledge of requesting.