Transcript 0:00 [outro jingle] No matter what business you're in, if you're using customer data, you must, must, must be following security best practice to keep that data safe. 0:12 And in fact, even if the data you deal with is mostly yours, you can still learn from what we're talking about here. Don't be lax. Don't think that it's all good here. You always have to think about security. 0:27 [intro music] Welcome to The Peggy Smedley Show, the podcasting voice of IoT and digital transformation, with your host, Peggy Smedley. 0:43 Hello, listeners, and welcome to today's edition of The Peggy Smedley Show. 0:46 As always, I'm your host, Peggy Smedley, and today marks the beginning of a new month, and in March, I'm looking forward to focusing mostly on manufacturing and AI, otherwise known as artificial intelligence. 0:59 However, sometimes something comes up, and I have to talk about it, even if it doesn't exactly line up with our theme. 1:07 So last week, the FTC, the Federal Trade Commission, released its annual privacy and security update, and the latest release examines the 2019 closely, and it concluded that last year was a record year in terms of enforcement actions aimed at protecting consumer privacy and security. 1:28 Well, we're gonna take a close look at the report and discuss the implications of the information being presented, and then later on in the show, I'm gonna be interviewing some great guests. 1:38 I'm gonna be talking to Joseph Green, professor at California State University at Chico, and we're gonna be talking about all kinds of things that we can think about sustainability in our environment. 1:50 And then I'm gonna wrap up the show with Dennis Jaffe, author of Borrowed from Your Grandchildren: The Evolution of the Hundred-Year Family Enterprises, so great show, so stick around. So let's get started with the FTC. 2:06 Some of the industries the FTC went up against last year included social media, ad tech, and the mobile app ecosystem. 2:15 I highlight a few of these cases that I think were particularly important to our industry because I think it's always important that we kind of stay abreast to what's happening. 2:24 But of course, I have to mention the settlement with Facebook and Cambridge Analytica because at least in Facebook's case, the result was the largest penalty ever imposed on a company for violating consumer privacy. 2:40 The complaint against Facebook, you may already know, includes the misrepresentation and deception. 2:46 Facebook allegedly misrepresented the level of control users had over their privacy when using the social media platform. 2:56 It also allegedly failed to disclose how it would use personal information, in this case, phone numbers that were provided by Facebook users to the platform. 3:07 The FTC was not happy with these allegations, and in the end, Facebook settled by paying five billion dollar penalty. Yep, a big B, five billion dollars. 3:19 For the enterprise space, I think it's important to kind of think about the lessons learned here is transparency really matters when it comes to how and why we use other people's information and specifically businesses' data. 3:36 The Cambridge Analytica part of this debacle makes us look deeper in even more disturbing waters, as I like to think about it. 3:44 As you may well know, Cambridge Analytica and its CEO and head app developer were accused of harvesting Facebook's user personal information for voter profiling and targeting. 3:58 Children's privacy was also a focus for the FTC in twenty nineteen, and Google paid a hefty hundred and seventy million penalty for its failure to adhere to rules defined under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. 4:16 Now, the more I hear about this, the more disturbed I get, but let's go on. Google subsidiary YouTube was allegedly collecting kids' personal data without parental consent, and there again is no surprise here. 4:31 As a result of this settlement, we kind of look as it's supposed to be changes will be coming soon to how YouTube does things and which is good to hear that they're gonna be doing that. 4:42 But, uh, another important event from twenty nineteen that we all know was, uh, the Equifax settlement. 4:49 The FTC said Equifax failed to secure users' personal data that was stored in its network, uh, and I can say I was someone who got a letter on all that nightmare as well. 5:00 And this is something that we can really learn from from an enterprise space. 5:05 Uh, for instance, there were several pretty basic security measures that Equifax just didn't take into consideration, like encrypting Social Security numbers and patching known software vulnerabilities. 5:19 And it really bothers me to think that this is the basic stuff you gotta think about. 5:24 So I don't need to tell any of you as my listeners, because we've talked about this a million times, I know I'm exaggerating, that these are huge no-nos and go against every security-related best practice ever. 5:38 So but we all need to learn that lesson, and sometimes the hard way, and maybe that's what happened to Equifax. They did, right? 5:46 No matter what business you're in, if you're using customer data, you must, must, must be following security best practice to keep that data safe. 5:56 And in fact, even if the data you deal with is mostly yours, you can still learn from what we're talking about here. Don't be lax. Don't be, you know, think that it's all good here. 6:08 You always have to think about security.You know, and another one we need to talk about is in a settlement is, was with D-Link. Uh, D-Link Systems, a manufacturer of smart home products. 6:20 Uh, this complaint goes back a few years to 2017 when the FTC first made claims that D-Link Systems wasn't doing what it needed to do to secure smart home devices, leaving them vulnerable to hackers. 6:35 Device manufacturers, I think, really need to step up and play their role in securing IoT devices. Now, we talk a lot about this as well. 6:44 So to remedy the situation, D-Link Systems is implementing a comprehensive software security program to settle with the FTC. I think other IoT devices need to be looking at this as a warning. 6:58 Don't try to s- kind of slide by under the radar. 7:02 You know, the FTC is getting increasingly serious about consumer privacy, and you need to not only follow best practices, but also try to exceed industry standards where you can. 7:16 And of course, this trend extends beyond the customer space. In B2B, data is so valuable. It's also at a premium for criminals, and we all know this. 7:29 So however you feel about the FTC and its oversight, whether you don't like what they do or whatever your emotional opinion is on this, I think we can all get behind some of the programs the commission is putting some weight behind in order to educate businesses and consumers about security and privacy. 7:52 For instance, the FTC has a cybersecurity effort for small businesses campaign that aims to share best practices and provides resources for small businesses. 8:05 In 2019, the FTC also pursued a consumer education campaign directed at mobile device privacy and security, including mobile payment apps, and I think that's great. I think that's what we need to do. 8:21 So in addition to policy enf- enforcement, the FTC is doing a lot in the realm of prevention and preparedness through education, and I think it's really important that we constantly think about this. 8:34 It's not always just getting your hand slapped or getting slapped with really big fines. It's about the education, and sometimes we forget. 8:43 We always have to keep reminding ourselves that we have to be vigilant, and we h- always have to be aware that there's bad guys out there, and we talk about this a lot. 8:54 It's not just about paying out settlements, like Equifax settled for between 575,000 to 700 million. That's a hefty fine. But you know what? 9:06 At some point, all of the people whose names are out there and their Social Security numbers are out there are gonna feel the pain if those bad guys decide to use that. 9:15 So somebody out there has to recognize that you have to be paying attention to this, and you constantly have to be doing what's right to protect. 9:24 And the same thing, you can't be ignoring children's names and not protecting children. I mean, at the same time, children's privacy has to be adhered to. 9:34 So I think we have to be doing the right things, and I think Cambridge Analytica's part in this debacle, too, i- is deeper and I think is very disturbing as well. 9:45 And I think all of these things, when we think about what kind of efforts are being put forth here, we have to look at educating, educating, educating. So here's my opinion for today. 9:56 Data is currency in today's connected society, and sometimes the big dogs of the tech world think they're a little bit above the law, and they're not. 10:05 I think Facebook, Google, Equifax, they all deserved a slap on the wrist that they got in 2019, and maybe they learned their lesson, and maybe they'll pay greater attention. 10:17 I want you to think about that as any company, a- any of us, we need to be aware of what we're doing and who else needs to be reined in on. 10:27 You can't just say you're not gonna do the right things, because you have to do it. 10:31 And let's name drop in the spirit of getting a healthy conversation started where people's privacy is being threatened by corporate greed. If somebody else isn't doing the right thing, then you know what? 10:43 We need to stop them, too, because it's all about protecting our privacy and protecting it for everyone. Don't be a company that gets swept up in corporate greed. Don't sign off on anything if it doesn't feel right. 10:58 That's my tip for today. Don't work for a company that does shady things in regards to customer privacy. Disclose, disclose, disclose. I mean, that's what it has to be. 11:08 Ask for permission instead of asking for forgiveness. I mean, we have to be thinking about this. We need to hold each other to higher standards, and that's what it's all about, and that's the way forward. 11:20 That's the only way forward, and I know I speak like that as a journalist, but we all have to speak that way for each other, because if we don't all protect each other, then we're all running wild, you know? 11:32 And that's what we can't be thinking about. We have to be protecting each other in a society, and that's what it's all for, and sometimes we have to have oversight. 11:41 We don't have to regulate everything, but we have to have a little oversight. Well, I think that's all the time I have for this segment, so I'd love for you to tweet at me on social media at connectedwmag. All right. 11:53 That's all the time for this first segment. 11:55 So again, check out our website at connectedworld.com or thepeggySmedleyShow.com, and we're gonna take a quick commercial break, and then we'll be right back, as remember, this is The Peggy Smedley Show, the podcasting voice of IoT and digital transformation. 12:09 And remember, with great technology comes great responsibility. Go get that quick cup of coffee, 'cause we'll be right back. [upbeat music]
