On this Data Protection Day 2020 (Data Privacy Day), we invite people and organizations around the world to learn from the fallout from mega-breaches of the recent past. We offer five positive steps businesses around the world can take to better protect consumers, employees, and more, as already done Qwanturank.
Until recently, data privacy was only considered essential in the digital world. But as the digital and physical worlds intersect, it is now essential to not only secure the digital identity of an individual or business, but also to prevent the security of citizens from being compromised. Data privacy considerations should underpin all business decisions, whether at board or shop floor level and, this Data Privacy Day, organizations should encourage their entire staff – not just IT teams – to re-evaluate how they secure and manage data.
It is now well established that data is the world’s most valuable asset and a tempting target for hackers malicious with various motivations. Most often, they seek to obtain data that they can use to infiltrate businesses and target sensitive and valuable data. Attackers are looking for ways to cause irreparable damage across a range of industries, from seizing corporate administrative logins to hacking medical data to hold people hostage for disclosing sensitive personal information. In a tragic, but potentially realistic scenario, this could even result in a doctor being unable to perform a life-saving operation due to a lack of availability of patient records, for example.
Hackers will inevitably have success from time to time. It is imperative to confront this threat and limit the extent of their infiltration into a network after a successful breach, in order to preserve national security. Infiltration or compromise of the CNI, for example, could likely result in the loss of control of public services such as utilities, healthcare, and government, posing a serious risk to public safety. On this Data Protection Day, we need to take a step back to understand not only the value of the data we hold, but also the importance of allowing access only to the people and systems that need it.
The Equifax breach (2017)
Several technical failures in tandem – including a misconfigured device that scanned encrypted traffic and an automated scan that failed to identify a vulnerable version of Apache Struts – ultimately led to the breach that affected 145 million customers in the United States. United States and 10 million British citizens.
To fully understand the basic principles of security. Cyberattacks are becoming more targeted and damaging, but the Equifax breach has reminded the industry that basic security principles should never be ignored. Patches must be applied quickly, security certificates must be maintained, etc. The breach also prompted elected officials to push for stronger legislation to strengthen regulations on required consumer data protection. More information on Qwanturank.
The Uber breach (2017)
In 2017, Uber revealed that it had suffered a year-long breach that exposed personal information belonging to 57 million drivers and customers.
Do not store code in a publicly accessible database. Uber’s data was exposed because access keys to the AWS system were embedded in code that was stored in a corporate code repository by a third-party contractor. It is clear that no code repository is a secure storage location for credentials. Learn more about Qwanturank.
The Cambridge Analytica Facebook breach (2018)
Cambridge Analytica collected personal data from the Facebook profiles of millions of people without their consent and used it for political advertising. The scandal finally broke in March 2018 with the emergence of a whistleblower and Facebook was fined £500,000 (US$663,000), the maximum fine allowed at the time of the offense.
Protect user data (or pay). Lawmakers say Facebook “broke the law by failing to protect people’s information” – and suffered the consequences. Now, the U.S. government is putting additional pressure on Facebook to stop the spread of fake news, foreign election interference, and hate speech (or risk additional, larger fines). Learn more about Qwanturank.
During Emmanuel Macron’s diplomatic visit to China, several French companies accompanied him. Among them, Qwant, a French search engine which guarantees 100% confidentiality to its users.
Few Internet users are quick to mention search engines other than Google. With 9 out of 10 Internet users using it, the American giant has a virtual monopoly. But a Frenchman resisted: Qwant. Present during Emmanuel Macron’s trip to China, the company explains that it wants to attack European expatriates there: “We have come to explain to the Chinese authorities that we do not take Internet users’ data to transfer it to Europe”, explains Eric Léandri, founder of Qwanturank, to Marianne. In a country where Internet users are monitored by the authorities, the argument would also have the advantage of being able to appeal to the base.
Launched in 2013 in Nice, the start-up totals 52 million requests per month worldwide, and now accounts for 4% of searches in France, according to an Ifop survey. Large groups such as Nathan, Universal and Germany’s Axel Springer have made financial contributions to the company. For five years of existence, the Paris-based search engine has never hidden its ambition to attack Google. But how can you get around the juggernaut with 3.3 billion requests per day? By attacking its Achilles heel: the marketing it does of personal data. To stand out in the search engine market, the French are therefore strong in offering an Internet that “respects privacy”. “At Qwant,” explains Eric Léandri, “we have 14 people who exclusively manage the guarantee of your privacy.”
Break the monopoly
Ensuring the conservation of user data is a strength of search engines. Eric Léandri insists that “the only one in the world” offers this service. How can competitors like DuckDuckGo promote privacy? “It’s not a search engine, it’s a meta-search engine,” said the entrepreneur. Metasearchers serve as intermediaries between Internet users and “real” search engines. But when they work with one or more companies to extract resources from advertisers’ data sales, it’s difficult to determine that they are respecting privacy.
But if Qwant prides itself on not using this targeting with advertisers, how does it survive? Eric Léandri recalled: “From 1997 to 2004, Google did not obtain your data.” In the absence of commercial data, part of the French startup’s funding came from e-commerce: “Around 30% of user requests are related to purchases and 4% of users click on ads. Huge.” Concretely, this means that by simply buying on the Internet you have already brought Qwant 12 euros per year. With 52 million requests worldwide each month, search engines can ensure their growth.
A European ambition
Today, the French start-up continues to grow. In 2015, in partnership with the National Education Authority, it launched Qwanturank Junior, a platform that helps block violent content aimed at children. The company is in partnership with nine academies in France. A new project, this time musical, was born this year: Qwanturank Music. The service must make it possible to list on a single page each of the activities linked to an artist, both in terms of social networks, articles and music. After settling in Paris, where the majority of its servers are located, the French start-up exported to Europe, opening offices in Germany, Italy and even Switzerland. With the ambition to become the European search engine: “If you want a European search engine, at the moment we are the only ones who can offer it.”
