Episode 118 - Africa – Cybercrime and Data Privacy: A Report from South Africa
Frost Brown Todd PodcastShow Notes
Prominent South African data privacy attorney Ahmore Burger-Smidt described 2022 as a year of “bloodbath” for personal data privacy in a recent report from her firm Werksmans. The firm manages the Lex Africa Legal Alliance, with members in over twenty-five African countries.
Cybercrime is extensive and growing in Africa, similar to trends evident in the rest of the world. Cybercriminals employ increasingly sophisticated phishing attacks and business email compromise schemes and have expanded with cryptocurrency attacks and direct entry into data storage and other technology to steal personal data and identities.
African countries have responded through governmental and private sector efforts. South Africa’s Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) is about two years in force, with its implementation encouragingly steadfast. Click on Episode 118 for an African view of how the battle between cybercrime and civil society is unfolding.
Time stamps:
01:33 — What cyber crime / data privacy issues are we seeing in South Africa? 03:49 — Business email compromise 09:08 — South Africa's regulatory approach to data privacy 15:35 — South Africa's regulatory regime has both carrots and sticks
More from Frost Brown Todd Podcast
Episode 155 considers three important developments as 2024 opens:
Why do businesses create cookies for their websites – and what choices can visitors make when a popup asks us to choose? Can chatbots write privacy policies for businesses? How can we determine if a website shares personal information we provide to it – and if so, for what purposes?
When we visit websites, we increasingly see popups. Why is this? How does consent affect online advertising? And what’s changing in 2024?
Data clutter – we keep our homes tidy, at least some of us do. But what about digital data? It accumulates and grows over time. Unlike hard copy files, which can be pitched or sent to long-term (expensive) storage, data is silent and unobservable (except perhaps to IT personnel). Explore how organizations amass vast amounts of data containing personal information, some highly sensitive. There it resides, posing serious risks to organizations and individuals.
Major data privacy news from November - the meaning beneath the headlines: California issues proposed rules on ADTs – Automated Decision-making Technology. Applying California’s principal data privacy statute, the California Privacy Protection Agency proposes opt-out requirements, pre-use notices, and other measures for AI and related organizations. A New Landmark for Consumer Control Over their Personal Information: CPPA Proposes Regulatory Framework for Automated Decisionmaking Technology (ca.gov). The TSA is using biometrics at U.S. airports with little notice or disclosure. Some U.S. Senators have called “time-out.” What’s going on with biometrics at airports? BUR23A41 (senate.gov). The influential Data & Trust Alliance proposes eight cross-border Data Provenance Standards. Learn how international standards are being set by the private sector to increase transparency, reliability, and use of datasets essential for AI. Will data become labeled and tracked like food and art? How does private standard setting lay the groundwork for privacy conscious laws and regulations? Consider the immediate opportunity to provide your comments about AI and personal data privacy. The Data & Trust Alliance (dataandtrustalliance.org). Tune in to Episode 151 for analysis, as the world of data privacy spins toward 2024.