Data protection laws will be top focus in global IT industry

THE framing of legislation to protect online user data will remain a major area of focus for the global IT industry in 2019.

This may seem like nothing new - securing online data was already the biggest challenge faced last year by both governments and corporations, as well as individual Internet users. What will be different is the sense of urgency with which the problem will be tackled. With Europe's Global Data Protection Regulation, which came into force in May 2018, being viewed as a success in protecting data of European Union (EU) residents, there will be a push for similar laws around the globe. Singapore's own PDPA (Personal Data Protection Act) will be tweaked later this year with regards to the use and disclosure of NRIC numbers.

While national and even regional legislation is welcome, it is still no guarantee against cyberattacks. The major problem that authorities face in data protection is the fact that the attacks are invariably cross-border. With no global standard in terms of data protection and law enforcement available it is very difficult to bring perpetrators to book even when they are identified.