Hi, friends.
It’s not only the climate that’s heating up globally. With heavy-duty fines announced by the U.K.'s ICO on Marriott and British Airways and focused attention of world leaders on data protection and data flows in forums like G20 and the Court of Justice of the European Union’s hearing to determine the validity of standard contractual clauses as legal instruments for data transfers to rapid regulatory upgrades in Asian countries, action is getting hotter every passing day in the data protection space.
So where do we gather to discuss all this? For now, at the IAPP Asia Privacy Forum in Singapore early next week. The theme, sessions, keynotes and panels all offer contemporary insights into transforming data protection landscape, especially in the Asian context. It then rolls over to RSA Asia Pacific & Japan 2019 where IAPP Hong Kong Regional Leader Jason Lau and I, along with leading experts, will discuss "Data Protection Demands Regionally and Globally."
From India, Minister for IT, Telecom and Law Ravi Shankar Prasad has reiterated that government is working to soon introduce the Data Protection Bill in Parliament. Early this week, amid concerns voiced by opposition on privacy grounds, Aadhaar (Amendment) law has been passed by both the Lower and Upper House of the Parliament. It allows the use of Aadhaar data by states for implementation of their schemes and voluntary use of the unique number as ID proof for obtaining phone SIM cards and opening bank accounts.
Recent research by Check Point highlights a new variant of mobile malware dubbed as "Agent Smith," estimating more than 2.8 billion infections on about 25 million unique devices across the world, out of which 15 million devices are estimated to be from India and a few from Bangladesh and Pakistan. It accesses the smartphone's resources to show fraudulent ads and is potentially used for more intrusive and harmful purposes, like theft of banking credentials and secretly listening to conversations.
Following this news, let me point you to the official trailer of "The Great Hack". It’s about data, hacking, surveillance and profiling and is out in less than two weeks. Looking forward to it!
Thank you, and we look forward to meeting you in Singapore.