FINAL WORD
“
48% OF CONSUMERS
SURVEYED SAID THEY WERE
CONCERNED ABOUT PRIVACY
ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH THEIR
SMART SPEAKERS.
studies conducted. We need to develop
clear safety regulations and conduct
better testing of 5G technologies prior to
widespread launch.
Frank Palermo, EVP, Virtusa
There are clear benefits of 5G technology,
including helping Internet of Things (IoT)
to achieve its full potential which could
better connect people, organisations and
cities. For instance, 5G could save lives
by allowing doctors to perform remote
surgery when people have been in car
accidents without having to wait for them
to get to a hospital.
But there are rising safety concerns
around the deployment of 5G
technology which uses high-frequency
waves to reach higher speeds. Large
cell towers will need to be replaced with
smaller towers closer to the ground
and users than ever before. Opposition
to 5G is already emerging in the US
with concerns over additional radiation
exposure as a result of deploying local
5G networks. Some studies are linking 5G
waves to heart problems, birth defects,
decreased antibiotic sensitivity, cataracts
and immune system suppression. The
reality is there have not been enough
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INTELLIGENTCIO
2. Another data breach?
In the first half of 2018, there were 945
data breaches leading to 4.5 billion
data records being compromised. The
record-breaking amounts of data were
stolen from multiple companies. It felt
like every month we learned about a
new mega-breach. In September 2018,
Facebook announced that 50 million user
accounts had been comprised, the largest
in the company’s history. In November it
became public that 500 million customers
of Marriott/Starwood had their data
stolen. Finally, the year ended with Quora
announcing in December that 100 million
user accounts had been compromised.
No wonder we’re collectively developing
‘security fatigue’ and no longer have any
faith that corporations can adequately
protect our data. The unsurprising result
is that half of all consumers are now
giving ‘fake data’ when online. While
legislation like GDPR represents a step
in the right direction, there is still a long
way to go before we will feel happy
giving up our data.
smart speakers. Users report incidents of
spontaneous laughter, sending private
audio without permission and recording
private conversations.
We’re being told that these devices are
fully secure and vendors often cite a
series of improbable events as the cause
behind these mishaps. But the reality is
that 48% of consumers surveyed said
they were concerned about privacy
issues associated with their smart
speakers, showing that, for all the
convenience, perhaps we’re just not that
happy with the idea of being listened to
by a faceless tool 24/7.
A regulated solution
In order to solve this feeling that tech
isn’t working for us, we need to shift our
thinking in some key ways and a crucial one
is how the tech industry sees regulation.
Innovation and regulation have been seen
as enemies for decades. Yet inventors of
new technologies are constantly unable to
predict all of the negative ways it can be
used and the current free market system is
clearly no longer working to ensure end-user
privacy. The breakneck speed of Digital
Transformation is leaving the public and
governments behind so quickly that they are
unable to keep up.
Therefore, we need to rethink regulation
to manage in the digital world. We need
vendors, not just governments, to become
more accountable. Firms need to re-evaluate
their emphasis on ease of use over security.
Users want and deserve both and until they
get it, we should all be lobbying for better
regulation. So, as we go through 2019, why
don’t we spend more time hardening the
technology we have before moving to the
next set of shiny tech toys? n
3. Privacy concerns
Digital assistants like Google Home and
Amazon Echo are gaining momentum.
Gartner predicts that within four years,
a quarter of us will have some form of
smart speaker or digital assistant. These
devices can be very useful but they
are also stealing time from traditional
hobbies, with 45% of users listening
to less radio, 32% reading less and
29% watching less TV. On top of that,
we’re seeing an increasing number of
reports of rogue behaviour from these
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