IoT, Big Data, Cloud: Take Security and Privacy seriously to stay in the game

The past few years have seen the convergence of a number of technology streams accelerating:

• The Internet of Things, which is collecting an ever increasing amount of data;
• Big Data technologies, which are enabling an ever faster processing of more and more diverse data sets;
• Cloud technologies, which are offering scalable and cost-effective processing platforms;
• Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, which are in the process of taking this to a whole new level.

There is little doubt that at the intersection of those, there is an avalanche of use cases that has the potential to transform the society we live in and our lives themselves.

This is not about techie gadgets and funny apps anymore.

Surveys consistently estimate the potential value creation to reach tens of $billions by the end of the decade.

But at the same time, a large proportion of those use cases revolve around people; people – consumers, citizens– who have expectations of security in many cases and a right to privacy – at least in many countries

The amount of media coverage on these matters has been very significant over recent years, but to a large extent, these are still relatively early days, and we continue to see too many IoT products rushed to market without basic security protective measures and too many tech vendors talking about data monetization as if the consumer’s data simply belonged to them and they could do anything they like with it

We also live in a world that is being shaken by terrorism and terrorist networks who have been using digital media for years to disseminate their own propaganda and to communicate between themselves, but now could also exploit internet connectivity to perpetrate their crimes. In response, governments have had very few alternatives but to increase the online monitoring of citizens for the basic purpose of protecting them, and their way of life.

So where will we be by 2030?

• Is it conceivable that non-stop security breaches could have killed the consumers trust in a digital world?
• Is it conceivable that ruthless monetization by tech vendors and constant state monitoring would have forced people to hide constantly behind proxies or other devices?
• Are we – citizens, consumers, legislators – going to have to think about data, privacy and identity differently for the digital transformation to take place and deliver in full its expected value?

During the second half of 2015, Corix Partners, a Boutique Management Consultancy Firm focused on Cyber Security Strategy, Organisation & Governance, together with a panel of experts, have analysed the mechanics behind technology convergence and what large corporates can do today to circumnavigate the pitfalls that would lead to value destruction, and stay in the long-term game, ahead of competition.

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