Supporters alerted by British charities about the breach of their personal data

Blimey, it’s been a busy one in the world of tech and security, hasn’t it? None more so, perhaps, than in the realm of artificial intelligence. I mean, it’s everywhere these days, and its impact on our lives, from the way we shop and travel, to the way we work and even relax, is ever-increasing.

But what about when things go wrong?

Take what happened recently across the pond in the US. You may well have heard about it. It seems that every other breach these days is caused by a spot of hacking. And while we’ve all got our own ideas about who might be behind such mischievous digital deeds, the actual details can often be a little trickier to pin down.

Now wheareas you would think that these breaches tend to focus primarily on the financial sector or maybe even the government, the reality is somewhat different. Believe it or not, it’s the health sector that is most often the target. Can you believe it? All those personal details, caught up in a digital sticky wicket.

But hold on a sec! That’s only the tip of the iceberg. If you thought that it was just hacking causing all these breaches, my friend, you’re a bit off the mark. From insider shenanigans, papers going walkabout, dubious email attempts, to outright theft, there’s a myriad of ways these online ne’r-do-wells could be having a go at our data. Adding a further layer of complexity, many a time these breaches occur due to the actions of subcontractors. In such cases, tracking wrongdoings can be much similar to looking for a needle in a haystack.

Now let’s not forget that other, less obvious form of security concern – identity theft. Crickey! Even as we guard our personal and financial info, others are busy trying to nab it for their own gains. And it’s not just the Yanks dealing with this, we Brits ain’t exempt either.

So, what about the tech bods who are working to turn this all around? Well, they’re out there alright, and some of them are doing a cracking job. But, let’s be honest, if you listen to them go on in their tech lingo, it can sound a bit like they’ve all been at the Scrabble tiles.

That’s why I’m here: to make sense of it all, to turn, as Victor Gevers of the GDI Foundation put it, “nerd” into understandable “English”. After all we all need a bit of help sometimes to get through this labyrinth of cyber-security and healthcare data. Rest assured, I’ll keep you informed about all the updates and changes that happen under the hood.

In the end, what’s clear is that this digital landscape we’re all having to traverse is getting a bit treacherous, and we all need to up our game. Because whether it’s your nan’s medical data or your own identity at stake, it’s a game where the stakes just got considerably higher. As they say, forewarned is forearmed, right? So, its best we get a grip on this and carry on. Till the next chinwag, keep your data safe, mate!

by Parker Bytes