Blurred boundaries and data security: the threats and opportunities
The boundaries of a business are becoming blurred as it interacts with customers and suppliers across the digital ecosystem.
Many unseen symbiotic relationships between separate businesses are involved in delivering a product or service.
For example, when a customer orders a branded product from a retailer’s website, it might be:
Much of this is invisible to the customer — their relationship is with brands they trust: the retailer and the product. But, to allow delivery by enabling businesses to co-operate, customer data must flow beyond the retailer’s boundary and across its digital ecosystem. This blurring of boundaries also makes them porous.
So, cybercriminals do not only attack a business itself. They can reach their target by working their way through third parties’ systems in the extended supply chain. This means any weak link is an important concern, making it vital for companies to evaluate the security of supplier networks.
“… customer data must flow beyond the retailer’s boundary and across its digital ecosystem.”
The European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was introduced in May 2018. Constant requests to give consent to cookies are alerting consumers to the fact that personal data is being collected. Press coverage around scandals like the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica affair has made users more alert to data security issues. But, this doesn’t stop most people from clicking on consent buttons without reading the small print.
Customers are less comfortable when they have to key in personal data about themselves. And when the result of doing so is pop-up ads and unsolicited emails, their trust is diminished. This gives customer-facing businesses an opportunity to position themselves as being more trustworthy through:
“… this doesn’t stop most people from clicking on consent buttons without reading the small print.”
