In Europe, the GDPR and the CCPA in the US are designed to protect the privacy and data collection of individuals and ensure that there are checks and balances in place. When it comes to privacy, the amount of surveillance that is going on in the post-Covid19 world is one element that is quite worrying at least from the healthcare perspective. How does the Asia Pacific region figure in this equation? We caught up with Freddy Lee, CTO at IBM Malaysia for his thoughts on the matter. This is the 4th part of our interview series.

Asia Blockchain Review (ABR): Are compliance regulations like GDPR and CCPA a big factor in APAC? Or is this a non-factor?

Freddy Lee (FL): Organizations have seen an increase in the amount of data they collect and retain. At the same time, security and data breaches have been on the rise. The data economy has now driven regulators and governments to impose data privacy and protection regulations.

These changes, combined with growing consumer rights advocacy, have reinforced or even mandated the need for organizations to implement better data protections. Even more regulations are likely, though what those regulations will require and what the impact of those changes will be are still unknown.

Compliance to regulations including data privacy is absolute imperative. If enterprises are not prepared to comply with the growing number of global data privacy laws such as California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA), General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Malaysia’s very own Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) or any type of data privacy laws, they could be exposing their company to significant business risk.

We have seen many data breach stories published in the news, and one can find the latest data breach or the latest privacy issue that’s going on in businesses around the world. We are seeing an increase in both the severity but also the frequency of things like data breaches over time.

ABR: Could you tell us more about the intricacies of the underlying principles that are undertaken to ensure privacy concerns are alleviated?

FL:  If the client’s organization is collecting, analyzing, or sharing personal data, they are facing data privacy challenges that put it at risk. With a heightened awareness of the impact of personal data collection and use, increased regulation or new security threats, many companies are examining ways to successfully manage personal information throughout its life-cycle.

Privacy is a brand issue and clients need to protect their brand. And if they are not prepared to comply with the growing number of global data privacy laws such as GDPR, CCPA, PDPA, among others, and they could be exposing their company to significant business risk.

IBM has clearly outlined principles about data privacy and for decades followed core principles –grounded in commitments to Trust and Transparency – that guide its handling of client data and insights. Changing regulations around the world can also have major effects on organizations and how data is managed. To have the best chance and being in compliance, it’s important that companies understand how data moves through the business.

IBM DataOps capabilities help create a business-ready analytics foundation by providing market-leading technology that works together with AI-enabled automation, infused governance, and a powerful knowledge catalogue to operationalize continuous, high-quality data across the business. Read more here: IBM’s support for data privacy and data protection.

Be sure to check out the 5th part of our interview series with Freddy Lee, CTO of IBM Malaysia soon!

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About the author

Anil Prabha

Editor In Chief

Anil started his career in journalism all the way back in 2003. After traversing the sphere of editorial, corporate communications and advertising, he has now come full circle and is back in the world of journalism. He believes in the power of the written word, and its ability to enthrall, delight and inform the reader.