Personal Data Protection- Is it really protected?



I am pretty sure most of you have heard the recent buzz of Facebook massive security breach which happened back in September of last year. It was massively publicised on various news and social media outlets that it is nearly impossible to be unaware of it. This scandal affected over 50 million user accounts which definitely shed negative light on them, perturbing their reputation.

Till now, the issue remains unsettled, with the UK’s data protection watchdog calling for Facebook to drop their appeal against a £500,000 fine for breaching data protection laws. The scandal was actually a good test on their crisis management capabilities which I reckon was not very commendable. With no signs of closure anytime soon, as displayed by Facebook's continuous appeals endeavours, it would be a long and lonely battle for them.

Facebook would also have to strategise on getting back their users' trust which got diminished in the light of the scandal. This whole ordeal definitely impacted them significantly in relations to their brand image, user confidence level as well as the major reviews and revamps on their system interfaces.

Well then, was Facebook able to prevent the situation? Probably with tighter security, but this situation also depicts how Facebook was outsmarted by attackers that also implies their inadequate risk mitigation strategies implemented. With the implementation of more comprehensive risk mitigation strategies, they might have handled the situation better. The scandal put such a toll on their company image that rumours surrounding unethical acts started to circulate them shortly after. 



It got out of hand to the point that they actually had to address the rumours themselves.



Still, scepticism still arise even after the rumours were personally addressed.





For sure it had greatly affected their users' trust and their recovery strategies have to be well devised in order for a successful comeback of their brand image and reputation. With all these ordeals, how protected are our personal information? How did we get to a point where we just thoughtlessly entrust companies with our personal information such as our address and credit card details. Is online convenience really worth it? What if one day just like what happened to Facebook, attackers outsmart other companies and retrieve our sensitive information as well- attempting to impersonate us using the unethically retrieved data. Well, it could just be me being worrywart but what are your views on this? Are our personal data well-protected by our entrusted companies?

Comments

  1. ChloeApril 8, 2019 at 12:25 AM

    Hi Lukita, great analysis on the Facebook's data security issues. I'm sure a lot of people felt violated and unsecured after this huge incident breakout. It's hard to tell whether our personal data is being protected by the companies because its weird when I'm able to find sponsored post about the brand or products that I found on the other social media. It surprises me sometimes and I felt that my activities on mobile or apps are being tracked so it has definitely affected many people's trust in Facebook but that will not stop us from using since Facebook has been a part of our lives.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nur LukitaApril 8, 2019 at 12:33 AM

      Hi Chloe! I do agree with you that despite losing consumers' trust, it still would not stop people from using it. It shows how integrated Facebook has been with our lives. Quite scary I would say to continue using something despite being aware of its potential threats.

      Delete
  2. JillsonApril 8, 2019 at 12:28 AM

    I always thought that Facebook actually sold the information themselves. Did not know it was stolen. It feels like as a business that is all about information sharing, it feels like they actually sold it instead. Is it definitely reported that it was stolen already? Either way in this time and age with IOT, even if FB is not calling our data there might be a lot of other ways our private information might get out.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nur LukitaApril 8, 2019 at 12:37 AM

      Hi Jillson! According to Mark Zuckerberg himself, he clarified that he did not sold them but nothing's ascertain for sure as the case is still ongoing. With this I think it is important for us to not divulge in so much of our personal data online as we cannot ensure of its safety.

      Delete

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