One size fits nothing

Today’s technology companies face attack from malicious actors that are set on stealing their IP or the personal data they hold and, therefore, they must identify the assets that are most important, consider the most likely lines of attack, and tailor a defensive strategy accordingly.

Of course, a holistic digital risk strategy (which should span cyber security and data privacy risk across the enterprise) must incorporate more than defending against cyberattack. Ever stricter data protection regulation, not to mention the public’s growing awareness of privacy, means technology companies must regularly reexamine privacy controls. Data asset categorisation is essential in this process too.

The tightrope between privacy and analytics

But a careful balance must be struck. Customers will appreciate technology companies going the extra mile on privacy, but not if it restricts their ability to receive personalised offers or the development of products tailored to their individual needs.

Individual companies aside, overbearing privacy law prevents the use of data to drive positive societal outcomes, be that in relation to healthcare, disease monitoring or traffic accident reduction. So, governments and regulators must also be careful not to enact overly restrictive privacy laws.

The middle-man in surveillance

Judging how far to go on privacy has become more complex because, like it or not, many technology companies are now surveillance intermediaries. Whether it be messages sent on social media, recordings from Echo devices or location data stored on smart phones, technology companies possess information that is useful for fighting crime.

There is no question that they must comply with the law regarding requests for information, but they have discretion over how swiftly they reply and the depth of information they provide.

Many now wonder whether law enforcement data requests should be processed without question, or heavily scrutinised in the interest of preserving privacy.

In the past, some technology companies resisted rather than cooperated with law enforcement. But as technology companies unwittingly accumulate more and more vital evidence, there is controversy in some markets about which data is shared, how much and for what purpose.

After all, being perceived as uncooperative with counter-terrorism forces is far more damaging than not adhering to the absolute strictest privacy standards.

Strengthen protection of digital assets

How should technology businesses respond to rising digital risk? First and foremost, they must classify, categorise and map out their digital assets to understand the specific risks and value associated with them.

Armed with this insight, they should develop and implement a nuanced, risk-based digital risk strategy that fortifies the digital crown jewels – those deemed most critical to the business and its customers.

Of course, one company’s most valuable data may be completely unimportant to another. For example, fintech companies highly value customers’ financial information, entertainment technology companies place high importance on consumer preference data and high-tech companies treasure their IP.

This approach sounds sensible. But a surprisingly large number of technology companies do not do this, and instead rely on an outdated one-size-fits-all approach to cyber security and data privacy based on perimeter security.

Bin useless data

In contrast, data revealed to be not at all useful to the business and not required for regulatory and compliance purposes should be deleted or appropriately anonymised. This reduces the risk of it being compromised.

Naturally, technology companies can be reluctant to delete information due to concerns they might need it for an audit or that it is essential for something they are unaware of. Data mapping helps realise interdependencies, which can assist in deleting data.

But data asset categorising doesn’t just reduce risk. It also creates value. This exercise might identify a dataset or combination of datasets that can be used to improve the efficiency of internal operations or gain insight into customer preferences.

When strategy changes, so should data categorisation

Technology companies must remember two things when profiling data assets. First, it is not a one-off exercise. They must constantly map out their digital assets as the nature of the threat changes and as their business priorities evolve.

Second, this task cannot be left to the information security officer or head of IT. It is a critical business decision that must align to business objectives. Senior business leaders must be involved in the process.

Drive competitive advantage through trust

There is a real opportunity for B2B technology companies to market themselves around digital trust. Those that demonstrate readiness to respond to a cyber threat, responsibly handle customer data and empower customers to manage privacy controls stand to gain a competitive advantage.

To start building trust, technology companies must offer value-added cyber security solutions such as malware and ransomware screening that plugs vulnerabilities as part of their core offering. Customers will also be impressed with suppliers that conduct comprehensive cyber security audits and produce independent assurance reports.

There are a number of security standards that technology companies can use to demonstrate best practice digital resilience. But because every technology company is different, these merely provide a starting point. Technology companies should evaluate what their customers want when it comes to privacy and security and prioritise this.

Consumers value control

The jury is out on whether B2C technology can truly differentiate themselves through digital trust. Still, there is no harm in making it incredibly easy for customers to identify and delete data that is held about them and manage privacy settings.

B2C technology companies must also make privacy policies crystal clear. Today, most are displayed in tiny lettering across multiple pages, making them impossible to decipher.

According to Renato Sesana, partner at Grant Thornton Financial Advisory Services, the global cost of cybercrime is expected to double in 5 years, from 3 trillion USD in 2015 to 6 trillion USD in 2021; in this scenario, technology businesses, i.e. those businesses that base their activity on technology, will be among the most affected.

Therefore, they must adopt a holistic and integrated approach to digital risk management, particularly to protect the most strategically relevant information and data on their clients, specifically with regard to B2C companies.

The fact that those businesses have adapted their organization and systems to the new law requirements (e.g. GDPR) should not let their guard down, not least because clients themselves are becoming increasingly more sensitive to personal data protection issues and, therefore, are ready to punish businesses in case of a data breach.

Our five recommendations

That’s why we deem it useful to provide the following recommendations that can generally help technology companies to build and maintain digital trust:

Categorise data assets according to their strategic importance. Those that will disrupt the business or customer experience or cause untold reputational damage if compromised should be heavily protected.

Regularly review your data asset categorisation in collaboration with senior business leaders. This categorisation must align with business objectives, which may change over time.

Don’t just think about the minimum required from the regulator when implementing data protection controls. Instead, consider what regulations may look like in the future.

Collaborate fully with valid requests for data and information and know the extent to which data should be provided.

Demonstrate your commitment to data protection by having your cyber risk practices tested regularly by an independent third-party. This will help to build trust.

When it comes to protecting your business to become immune to a cyber attack or data breach, one size does not fit all. However, technology companies can bolster their resilience by applying some or all of these recommendations so long as they tailor their actions to suit their unique position, and that of their clients.