Protection against cybersecurity and data privacy must be addressed

The internet is awash in more cyberattacks than ever, and gullible users are the problem. Here’s how Apple, Amazon, Google, Microsoft and a host of other companies plan to take the weakest link—you—out of the cybersecurity equation.

Passwords have long been the linchpin in the machinery protecting our online accounts. Increasingly, they are seen instead as a weak link—one that some companies want to do away with entirely.

In the future, there will be no passwords. Your smartphone’s and computer’s ability to scan your face and read your fingerprints are the key to a better online security.

That’s good news. Question is: what do we do in the meantime to protect ourselves against cyberattacks?

I like the idea of Singapore to address the issue: The Digital and Intelligence Service, the Singapore Armed Forces’ fourth arm, was established a few days ago to provide timely intelligence and safeguard Singapore against digital threats, including cyberattacks and electronic warfare.

I suggest that the Philippine government cooperates with Singapore and brings the same kind of protective service to the Philippines. We need it, given the fact that the Philippines ranked 23rd out of 250 territories with a total 523,684 leaked accounts in the third quarter of this year.

In the meantime, we need to focus our activities on data governance, which is the process by which an organization ensures that its data is accurate, complete and compliant with all relevant laws and regulations.

It encompasses the development of policies and procedures for managing data, ensuring that those policies and procedures are followed while periodically reviewing and updating them as needed.

Data governance aims to protect an organization’s data assets and minimize risk. Without proper governance, data can become fragmented, siloed and difficult to manage. This situation can lead to costly mistakes and inefficiencies.

As organizations place advanced data and sophisticated analytics at the center of their operations, new cybersecurity and privacy challenges are emerging that require private sector and government leaders to take digital trust seriously. Considering the ingenuity of scammers and other malicious actors, we need to strengthen our defenses by setting up cybersecurity measures. There is no doubt that cybersecurity and data privacy protection need to be treated as a matter of national security – as indicated above in the Singapore example.

It is evident that managing compliance and data security risks is not an easy task; it requires managing a lot of complicated processes, a myriad of stakeholders, as well as fostering a culture of ethics and compliance.

The complexity of compliance management and understanding, that the safe journey into data protection needs automation, inspired me to create a cooperation with Straits Interactive, a company in Singapore, that has developed the DPOinBox, Data Protection At Your Service, to equip professionals, managers and executives with the competencies to perform their jobs in data protection. The DPOinBox platform delivers data protection to build trust with customers and stakeholders. If you need assistance, don’t hesitate to contact me.

I am available at [email protected]