Keeping data safe with respect and integrity at the core

The very definition of “data protection” is methods and rules by which personal or official data (= information) that is provided to organizations, etc. is prevented from being wrongly used or made public.

Backing up data files, running frequent security checks, having solid endpoint protection is all important in keeping the data you hold secure and safe from cyber attacks.

But what we see missing from the conversation is how that data is treated - with trust, and respect for what it means to the person who’s data it represents.

If we understand what the data represents, not just from a high level, this should answer the question - “why should we care?”.

Personal identity data (PID) is the stuff that comes to mind when we think of data that needs to be secured, or that could be easily stolen and used against you in cyber attacks - it can be as simple as names and address, or it can be as deep as "all the crown jewels"...passports, IRD numbers, bank details, credit card numbers - the list goes on. All this information and more is the data you keep for your customers. The implications of this data being exposed or compromised is usually short term, and most importantly - more often than not reversible.

The thing that keeps us up at night thinking about all the implications it represents - are our personas.

Persona represents who we are at our core. Our faces, our voices, our beliefs, our worldview around personality, politics, religion, comedy - and what makes you, you. In recent years more and more Kiwis are becoming hesitant to put their personal details online as a result of the concern around personas being targeted. For example, 80% of respondents in a 2022 survey by Security Brief NZ say they are less likely to use their personal details online - and 66% say they are extremely concerned about having their identity stolen.

There have been many cases around innocent videos and images of people being manipulated into being shown on explicit internet sites for example. It was only recently in Spain where “artificial intelligence” deep faked naked images on underage girls. It’s not because of human error (for example, clicking on a phishing email), but simply because we exist - because our digital personas are everywhere, and are easily accessible. 2-3mins of voice gives you a 99% accurate voice cloning, but just 17seconds is enough to generate a 94% accurate voice modulation.

Advancements in machine learning technology brings many opportunities, but also many challenges in terms of data integrity and security.

“There’s a massive difference between ‘identity and persona’ in a digital world, especially as the persona area is not well protected by law, and is mismanaged or undervalued simply because of the “what can you do” mindset,” says GM of Cloud here at Spectrum, Richard Schorfield.

 

In terms of data and storage, it’s hard to know who really owns it. Tik Tok for example holds a crazy amount of your personal data. Information about the videos you watch, comments you write, private messages sent, and even your exact geolocation and contact lists - which is scary considering Tik Tok has 1 billion active users per month. So no, you don’t own that data that you post on any social networking sites, at the core of it.

Data isn’t just numbers on a page or a spreadsheet. Just following the latest trends in computing technology isn’t enough to preserve and protect it. That data being entrusted to you means it is your responsibility to do right by that data - and in an even bigger picture, the personas and people it represents.

We can’t convince people to stop sharing information online. These days, business is conducted online and with so much data to store and protect nowadays across multiple landscapes, it makes sense to embrace hybrid & multi-cloud environments. But what we can do is help Kiwi businesses protect the sacred stuff - company and user data, their personas that data represents - and even better, keep that data’s integrity intact for now and for future generations.

How do we do that? By employing good data principles and practices in relation to sovereignty backed by trust - and doing good for goods’ sake, not just because we have to.

Here at Spectrum, we’re a Kiwi-owned and operated company dedicated to helping businesses thrive by prioritizing care in technology, a fundamental principle in its application. We aim to empower data with dignity and respect for what it means to everyone, everywhere, forever.