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Data is the ‘new oil' and everyone needs to know what they're leaking

After Data Privacy Day, F-Secure's Chief Research Officer, Mikko Hypponen, warns about the growing intrusiveness of social media and internet-connected devices.

The unstoppable growth of both social media and the Internet of Things presents increasing privacy challenges for consumers, says Mikko Hypponen, F-Secure’s Chief Research Officer. Businesses that rely on collecting and monetising data are gaining ever-increasing access to users’ lives - practices that must be understood as much of the world marked Data Privacy Day on 28 January.

“I believe data is the new oil,” says Hypponen. “And just like oil brought us both prosperity and problems, data will bring us prosperity and problems.”

Hypponen has long warned about how free services target their customers using a shocking amount of specificity. “Twitter knows if you’re expecting a new child in your family in the next six months,” he explains. “And as a Twitter advertiser, you can use this to target your ads accordingly. It’s quite clear that this information isn’t coming from your tweets or who you are following on Twitter. It turns out this information is actually being bought by Twitter from large data warehousing companies. Twitter then connects this information to your account through your phone number.”

Snapchat, the world’s fastest growing social network, is now using offline data matched to users’ mobile IDs to offer its customers better targeting, according to AdWeek*.

And this potential privacy nightmare could get a lot worse thanks to your toaster, Hypponen explains. "Eventually, any toaster you buy is going to be an IoT toaster, even if there are no IoT features for the customer. It's still going to call home to the manufacturer,” he says. “And the reason this will happen is it's going to be so cheap to put in one chip to have it call home, that they're all going to do it, even if the benefits are very small. Because the benefits to the manufacturer are clear in the form of very useful analytics and possibly even data they could sell to a data warehousing company.”

The good news is that users are becoming more security conscious, according to an F-Secure survey**. Owners of Mac or iOS devices were just as likely to say that their computer needs virus protection as those who use Windows or Android devices, a positive development because Apple users are more likely to make commercial transactions on their devices.

Hypponen advises users to begin thinking about privacy whenever they join a “free” service or purchase an internet-connected device. In addition, he advises special caution over Wi-Fi networks. “Use a good VPN to secure yourself while using Wi-Fi networks,” he says. “Without a VPN, it’s trivial for anyone else using the same Wi-Fi to see big parts of your traffic. Use a VPN on your laptop, on your phone and your tablet.”

*Source: http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/snapchat-advertisers-can-now-target-apps-users-based-offline-sales-data-175646
**Source: The F-Secure Apple Myths Survey consisted of an online survey of 3,000 age, gender and income-representative respondents from 3 countries, 1000 respondents per country: United States, Germany and Sweden. Polling took place from December 9, 2016 through January 1, 2017.

More Information:

Mikko Hypponen: ‘Data is the New Oil’

About F-Secure

F-Secure is a European cyber security company with decades of experience in defending enterprises and consumers against everything from opportunistic ransomware infections to advanced cyber attacks. Its comprehensive set of services and award-winning products use F-Secure's patented security innovations and sophisticated threat intelligence to protect tens of thousands of companies and millions of people. F-Secure's security experts have participated in more European cyber crime scene investigations than any other company in the market, and its products are sold all over the world by over 200 operators and thousands of resellers.

Founded in 1988, F-Secure is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd.

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F-Secure media relations

Adam Pilkey
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About Camsoft Solutions

Camsoft Solutions is a Certified F-Secure Data Security Solutions Provider and has been actively involved in supplying, servicing and supporting F-Secure’s data security solutions since 1995. Our expertise and capabilities include solutions for secure unified messaging and archiving solutions, anti-virus, anti-spam, spyware, authentication, secure access and firewalls. With full service offices in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban, Camsoft provides the full range of technical services, including software sales, training, support, development and service level agreements to a wide variety of customers, including ISPs, banks, insurers, manufacturers, retailers, recruitment agencies and call centres, among many others. Camsoft’s CRM division has achieved Maximizer Software’s Africa Business Partner of the Year award every year from 2004 to 2012 and was Maximizer Software’s EMEA Partner of the Year for 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014.

16 Feb 2017 10:32

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