Alright, mate? I was just sitting here, sipping my tea, and reflecting on the passing year. You know what I was thinking? Not about those remarkable societal advancements or miraculous scientific breakthroughs we might’ve had; no, not me. Rather, my mind was preoccupied by our lurking digital demons: data breaches, identity theft, unauthorised access…the whole nine yards, you know?
Every end of the year, I see article upon article focusing on such unpleasant, albeit essential, issues. They put together long lists of data breaches across various sectors, talking about it in rather corporate-like jargon as if it’s your everyday run-of-the-mill occurrence. One such list featured a set of rogue’s galleries, from healthcare to clothing retail, all of which had bungled their breaches spectacularly.
But let’s not name names, shall we? It seems to me that finger-pointing isn’t really necessary. Unfortunately, in this day and age, it’s hard to throw a stone in the vast digital ocean without hitting a ship that’s got a leak. The pebble’s size might vary, making some leaks more worthy of attention than others.
Now, I’m one of those humble folks who thinks transparency is the be-all and end-all of any debacle, especially when handling data breaches. Not letting your customers or patients know about the alarm bells ringing at the back is rather like not telling your mate he’s got a piece of parsley stuck in his teeth. It’s embarrassing if they find out later and a significant breach of trust, if you ask me.
And do you know what continues to baffle me? How in this day and age, we’ve not reached a consensus on putting forth a federal regulation that mandates these erring entities to promptly inform people if their data has taken a nasty tumble. And by ‘nasty tumble’, I don’t mean after they’ve got their ducks in a row, finishing all their forensic analysis and getting a comprehensive green signal from their insurers or lawyers. No, no, no. I mean as soon as these entities get wind that their databases are spilling all their secrets online, causing folks to unwittingly dance with danger.
Now, wouldn’t you like to know if your data has been nicked and is gallivanting somewhere on the dark web or on a hacker’s forum? I, for one, wouldn’t want to be last to know. And heaven forbid, if it seems like personal identification information is involved, it wouldn’t hurt to encourage those affected to take swift action in freezing their credit reports, would it?
In the coming year, concerning transparency in data breaches, I’m confident we’ve got our work cut out. It’s shaping up to be a compelling discussion and certainly one worth following. So, stay tuned, stay safe, and keep your digital house in order. This isn’t just dry, boring tech news, it’s our lives now, and it’s important we face these digital demons head-on!
by Parker Bytes
