It was reported on U.S. news today that a U.S. military Predator drone was used last night to collect data during the riot in Minneapolis – St. Paul, USA. The drone flew in circles for what appeared to be a 10 mile radius. The news report said that a large amount of personal data was being collected by the Predator during its sweeps.
Thus, another instance of the intersection of data collection and security. I’m looking forward to reading more about this particular data collection activity.
Since March we have seen an increase in cyber incidents relating to the current pandemic. During this period reports suggest not necessarily an increase in cybercrime but instead s a visible increase in the use of Covid19 for tricking unsuspecting victims. In other words, no new crimes, but old crimes using new tricks.
Phishing, malicious domains and ransomware using Covid19 as bait are the most prevalent tactics but there is also an increase in attacks on vulnerable remote access technologies. Out of date software or indeed software developed without adequate privacy and security considerations are higher risk when combined with home networks and inexperienced users. Work from home has become a reality to most in a very short space of time. Many organisations have had to grapple together solutions to meet demand for example: relying on VPN solutions that had not been patched or insecure configurations exposed to unprotected internet connections.
Whilst security (like patching and pen testing) are obviously essential to protecting organisations, the increase in cyber incidents demonstrate the importance of data protection by design by default. A data protection impact assessment (DPIA) will allow for adequate risk identification and work towards achieving appropriate controls. It is also a robust way of documenting project development to ensure that privacy takes a structured place in design work-streams. Data protection by design by default can supplement and support infosec colleagues in ensuring that the incidents are dealt with in an appropriate manner.
Finally, an essential part of any DPIA assessment is to identify immediate necessary mitigations, and subsequent actions to prevent reoccurrence, i.e. remediate. I have never done a DPIA that hasn’t made reference to training. Indeed, training is the cement that ties cybersecurity and privacy together and creates the strong wall of defence for an organisation. For many organisations, they should be looking at retraining the workforce after the pandemic. This is not to “teach” them how to work from home, but how to do it “safely”!