(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Every time you take a photo from your mobile phone and upload it, you create data. Despite your illusions of security and privacy, this data is available to everyone. So for example, people you see in restaurants clicking away at their Hawaiian salads and instagramming those pineapple pieces, they're creating data. And that data - those salad pictures - are available to anyone who really wants to get their hands on them.
"Our behaviour is creating the most amount of data," said Mohammed Amin, senior vice-president and regional manager at EMC Corporation.
Data is everywhere. Soon-to-be parents of babies not yet born create data for their child when they choose e-mail addresses in anticipation of the birth.
"We're seeing a period of data explosion,"Amin said. And this data is already outstripping global storage capacity. The Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, he said, is a leader in data growth, contributing 3.8 per cent to the digital universe every year.
Statistically alarming
EMC Corporation is a provider of IT storage hardware solutions to promote data backup and recovery. In April this year, they came out with this statistic: The average household creates enough data to fill 65 iPhones (of 32gb) per year. In 2020, they said, the figure would be 318 iPhones.
The alarming part is that 70 per cent of all this data is unstructured. In the Mena region, 53 per cent of this data is not protected. This lapse raises concerns over how safe your online content is, and which parties are privy to it.
At the du Cyber Security Conference last week, Dr Nagueb Attia, vice-president and CTO of IBM in MEA (Middle East and Africa) - responsible for creating technical solutions and security strategies for Expo 2020 - laid emphasis on the importance of "reducing blind spots", "building a wall around your crown jewels", and using the cloud to store your data. He said you have to have in place apps that sniff out "bad activity" around the cloud. If you don't, it's the virtual equivalent of leaving your house at the mercy of a flimsy lock.
At the workplace
In offices, it is the job of companies to keep their sensitive information well secured. Attia pointed out that "49 per cent of IT executives in fact have no measure of the effectiveness of their security efforts", and "31 per cent of IT professionals have no risk strategy".
Use analytics, they say, and insight for smarter defence. Common terms heard in the talks of the speakers at the cyber security conference were 'integrated solutions', 'integrated security', 'auditing', 'innovation' and 'ranking'. Getting professional help was another point that was stressed on. Or "harness the knowledge of professionals", as it was put in another power point presentation.
The human factor
Where are you in security? Some offices, Attia pointed out, are still running on outdated operating systems. Organisations make it easier still for hackers and dealers in malware to wreck havoc if systems are using Windows 98. "Security is an expensive business. Yet organisations need to invest in up to date strategies and customise their protection capabilities and block specific vulnerabilities to stay ahead in the threat landscape," said Attia.
There's no relaxing, he said, if one is the chief security officer of a company, "In security, things are changing every week."
Findings of a global study on 'The Internet of Things' say that the leading causes of all this data creation are: Wireless technologies, smart products, smart phones, and software defined businesses.
Another speaker at the conference, Naser Al Rashdi from the National Electric Security Authority, shared that 71 per cent of security gaps happen due to human error, ignorance, and lack of awareness.
Ibrahim Al Mallouhi, vice-president - Security Operation at du, said there's been a 5 per cent increase in "customer host infections" since last year. He also spoke of lottery scams on the mobile being still on the rise, with people being duped by crank callers informing them of an alleged win of a million dirhams on the lottery.
The warnings are on the wall, and everywhere in the subtext. The next time you click 'I agree' while downloading an app on your phone, or on your computer, you might want to slow down and read what you're tacitly agreeing to, and the permissions you're granting companies to use your personal information, and to what end.
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