The controversy surrounding Facebook and privacy issues has made news headlines. However, data brokerage and the miss-use of information is nothing new.
The subtle manipulation of the way in which users respond to certain information stimuli is currently a hot topic of conversation. This after the recent Facebook/Cambridge Analytica scandal literally broke the internet in a way that no amount of funny cat video footage has ever managed to do. Whilst it certainly is no surprise that Facebook users find this kind of intrusion on privacy and thought manipulation to be exceptionally disturbing, it is interesting to note that many people consider this to be news, when in fact, it has been going on for a very, very long time. The only difference being that it was called by a different name.
The truth is, data, or information brokers have been around and doing business for almost as long as what the internet is old. It’s a multi-billion dollar industry and its not bound to come crashing down anytime soon. In many ways, the need for this type of intellectual trade is fuelled by everything from over-supply to economic recessions.
Companies have become increasingly more desperate to get a grip on effective marketing in order to sell their products to the best possible target market. Making the most profit from the least amount of effort and capital input has become the driving force behind every conceivable marketing strategy under the sun.
Information Is Money
Data brokers collect everything from census information, motor vehicle and driving records, court reports and voter registration lists, to medical records and internet browsing histories. The idea is to gather as much information about every conceivable human profile as possible.
This information is then categorised and grouped into typical market profiles, providing an in-depth analysis on everything from religious affiliation, political affiliation, household income and occupation to investment habits and product preferences.
It doesn’t require a technological genius to see why this information is worth thousands of dollars.
No Control
Individuals are usually not able to determine exactly what is known about them by data brokers. Most data brokers hold on to the information that they have obtained for an indefinite period of time. Loosely translated: the information may very well never go away. Part of the efficacy of the gleaning process is that historical information can be compared with the latest information in order to better determine customer trends as well as the rate at which certain dynamics evolve.
A very scary thought indeed, especially considering the fact that entities like social media giant Facebook still consider allowing companies like Cambridge Analytica to continue trolling its pages from an insider’s perspective, knowing full well that this is the case.
More Than Marketing
Moving away from the manipulative marketing point of view, information in general can be a very sensitive issue. The truth is, somewhere along the line, many of us have dabbled outside the borders of a marriage or relationship or have even discussed sensitive information relating to criminal behaviour and activities with contacts via instant messaging apps.
It’s safe to say that most of us would pay considerable amounts of cash in order to protect information of this nature, especially since the leaking of this information to interested parties can have dire effects on the very quality of our lives.
When considered in this light, blackmailing activities become a real and imminent danger, no longer something found only in crime and drama series on television. There’s also the risk of users information being used in scams, and con-artists are well versed in identity theft and assuming other peoples data as their own.
Its Free For A Reason
People have long been aware about the many dangers of over-sharing information on social media. Many people have fallen prey to identity theft and have lost everything but the clothes on their backs due to this. Imagine now the dire nature of the situation now that the problem is no longer criminals trolling social media pages that have not been sufficiently hidden from the public eye, but instead, are being handed sensitive information on a silver platter, for a minimal fee.
The question begs: is Facebook more than just a social media platform? Or has it been headed towards being a modern-day surveillance tool all along?
Perhaps there is a more sinister reason behind the fact that its free, and always will be, than what meets the eye.
Cybersecurity and privacy issues, along with infrastructure management and emerging technologies, rank as the top technology challenges organizations face today, according to a just-released survey report from global consulting firm Protiviti and ISACA, a global business technology professional association for IT audit/assurance, governance, risk and information security professionals. The survey of 1,062 IT audit and internal audit leaders and professionals found that IT audit is also becoming more involved in major technology implementation projects within organizations.
In the survey, respondents were asked to name the top technology or business challenges their organizations face today. The top 10 responses:
"It is no surprise to find security, technology infrastructure and emerging technologies atop the list of challenges that IT auditors see in their organizations," said Gordon Braun, a managing director with Protiviti and global leader of the firm's IT Audit practice. "Yet, we find the other challenges listed to be just as critical to companies, from resource and skills gaps to ongoing transitions to cloud and virtual networks. Additionally, as more and more organizations rely on third parties to support critical applications and infrastructure, the need to excel at managing vendor relationships has increased dramatically. Many organizations have not sufficiently addressed maturing their vendor management practices, and the resulting business risks can be significant."
According to the ISACA/Protiviti survey, titled A Global Look at IT Audit Best Practices, in large companies (greater than US$5 billion in revenue), 26 percent of IT audit functions have a significant level of involvement in major technology projects, while 45 percent have a moderate level of involvement. IT audit is most frequently involved in the post-implementation stages (65 percent).
"Seeing greater involvement by IT audit in significant technology projects is a positive trend, especially considering the dynamic nature of technology and critical risks related to security and privacy," said Christos Dimitriadis, Ph.D, CISA, CISM, CRISC, chair of ISACA's board of directors and group director of information security for INTRALOT. "This is also notable because a substantial percentage of IT projects tend to run over budget and behind schedule and fail to achieve the desired objectives. Having IT audit bring a mindset of risk and control to these projects can be highly advantageous."
Dimitriadis continued: "However, our results show that IT audit is more involved in the post-implementation stages of these projects versus earlier planning and design stages. We believe there is an opportunity for organizations to derive the most value from their major IT projects by engaging IT audit earlier rather than downstream in the projects. With a solid foundation of assurance on the front end, organizations can have the confidence they need to be innovative and fast-paced in pursuit of their business goals."
Greater Audit Committee and Executive Engagement
In a majority of organizations (55 percent), the IT audit director regularly attends audit committee meetings. This represents a 6 point jump from the prior survey results (published in late 2015) and reflects a long-term trend in the survey findings since 2012, when less than one in three IT audit directors attended audit committee meetings regularly.
"There's no question that cybersecurity and emerging technologies are now a regular topic at the board level," said Braun. "Audit committee members, in particular, are seeking greater assurance around critical IT risks and controls - internal audit and IT audit leaders must be prepared to demonstrate audit coverage of key areas and articulate where the highest risks remain."
Another notable trend is the growing number of IT audit leaders who are reporting directly to the CEO. While still not a large number (for example, 13 percent in North America, 26 percent in Europe), these figures, as well as those from other regions, represent notable jumps from the 2015 survey results. "It's possible that in at least some of these instances, the chief audit executive is serving as the IT audit director, which is positive to see in that it provides the IT audit function with greater executive and board visibility," said Dimitriadis. "This also is a logical development considering the increasing technology-dependence of organizations and the integral role the IT audit function plays in helping management identify key risks and ensure the proper controls are in place."
Risk Assessment Frequency
The Protiviti/ISACA study also found that among large companies, 90 percent conduct an IT audit risk assessment. However, a majority (55 percent) only do so on an annual or less-frequent basis. Considering the growing risk landscape resulting from cybersecurity threats and emerging technologies, ISACA and Protiviti suggest that more organizations consider an approach that includes continually reviewing the IT risk landscape and adjusting IT audit plans accordingly.
(Source: Protiviti)
2016 was an unprecedented year, with massive global political upheaval, the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and centre stage being taken by issues such as ‘post-truth’, resurgent nationalism, and technological unemployment. These social, technological and political shifts have significant potential ramifications for all aspects of global finance, commerce and markets. Hence, with the world now more accustomed to such seismic agenda changing developments, the Fast Future Publishing team have turned our thoughts to the future and dipped into our recent book The Future of Business and our upcoming release The Future of AI in Business to suggest what might happen in the year ahead. Below we provide our 2017 year-end report, outlining 20 critical trends and scenarios we could see emerging, and highlight their potential impact on economic and financial markets.
Politics, Government and Regulation
Technology and Privacy
The Economy and Business
Social and Leisure
About Fast Future Publishing
At Fast Future Publishing we develop our books using an exponential publishing model, and we have completed the successful launch of our first two books – The Future of Business (top five per cent of all business books in its first year), and Technology vs. Humanity (Amazon bestseller within one week of launch).
We are a new breed of publisher founded by three futurists – Rohit Talwar, Steve Wells, and April Koury. Our goal is to profile the latest thinking of established and emerging futurists, foresight researchers, and future thinkers from around the world, and to make those ideas accessible to the widest possible audience in the shortest possible time. Our FutureScapes book series is designed to address a range of critical agenda setting futures topics that we believe are relevant to individuals, governments, businesses, and civil society
Rohit Talwar, Founder and CEO
Rohit Talwar is a global futurist, founder of Fast Future and an award-winning speaker noted for his provocative content. He advises global firms, industries and governments on how to survive, thrive, spot and manage emerging risks and develop innovative growth strategies in the decade ahead. His interests include the evolving role of technology in business and society, emerging markets, the future of education, sustainability, and embedding foresight in organisations.
Katharine Barnett, Concept Editor
Katharine works on creating, developing and editing a variety of content for Fast Future Publishing. She has a broad range of futurist interests including societal and behavioural norms, digital and information ethics, biomedical ethics, genomics and pharmacology, and the future economies of the developing world.