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Are you willing to share data from your pulse watch? Then your life insurance could be cheaper

Gaute Lien, Nordic Security lead at Accenture, believes that we will be in a better position in the future to assess the value of and sell our personal data. “It will be possible to choose whether you’d like to earn money from your personal information,” he says.

MORE POWER TO YOU: According to Norway’s Data Inspectorate, eight out of ten Norwegians find it uncomfortable to be tracked online to allow marketers to target their advertising. “In the future, the consumer may be able to choose how their personal data is managed,” says Gaute Lien.

More and more private companies are collecting information on your behaviour while online. This information is bought and sold instantaneously on international stock markets to allow advertisers to tailor advertising to you and your needs.

“You go into a shop to buy groceries,” says Gaute Lien, Nordic Security lead at Accenture.

“If the shop knows nothing about you, you have to choose all of your groceries. But it could be useful if the shop already knows what you want so you have more time to do the things you enjoy.”

According to Norway’s Data Inspectorate, eight out of ten Norwegians find it uncomfortable to be tracked online to allow marketers to target their advertising.

“Privacy protection laws allow you to decide how to share your personal information. You can make a qualified choice and assess how much of your life should remain completely private,” says Lien.

While Gaute Lien underlines how your personal property may be under threat, at the same time he paints a picture in which the consumer of the future can have more power.

BETTER CONTROL OF YOUR OWN DATA: “You’ll have an overview of which parts of your data are being used and who’s buying it,” says Gaute Lien on the subject of future privacy protection.

"That means it will be possible to choose whether you want to earn money from your personal information."

More power to you

“You’ll have an overview of which parts of your data are being used and who’s buying it. There are several companies working on these sorts of solutions right now.”

Furthermore, Lien believes that in the next round of development this overview will put the consumer in a better position to assess the value of and sell their own personal data.

“The consumer will be able to choose how their own personal data should be managed. That means it will be possible to choose whether you want to earn money from your personal information.”

Lien uses the insurance sector as a likely example.

“A lot of people these days own a mobile or watch that has a pedometer or pulse monitor. If you were in good physical shape, would you be willing to give your health data to an insurance company to get lower premiums or a payout?”

Generation gap: “The boundary is changing from year to year”

Figures from Norway’s Data Inspectorate show that more than one third of under-30s are OK with online newspapers recording everything they read to allow them to tailor their advertisements. The corresponding figure for readers aged 50 or more is only 10%.

“The boundary is changing from year to year. In ten to twenty years, Norwegians will be willing to share the type of personal data that’s not on for the majority of people these days,” thinks Lien.

While some of the most profitable companies in the world make a living from collecting personal data, the EU tightened its grip last year and secured better privacy protection on behalf of its citizens. The new privacy protection regulations will come into force in 2018.

“In order to secure trust in personalised services, our private life needs to have a standardised privacy protection policy at its foundation. It’s understandable that a lot of people lack confidence in some of the solutions currently out there,” says Lien.

EXPERT: “It’s understandable that a lot of people lack confidence in some of the solutions currently out there,” says Gaute Lien, Nordic Security Lead at Accenture.

Accenture advises: “Let the consumer be the boss”

Lien believes that it’s important to be aware of our own privacy rights and that, at the end of the day, we as consumers own the right and privilege to manage our own personal data.

“If I know what belongs to me personally, I have to be wise about the risks associated with sharing it as well as what I could get out of it.”

As usual for the companies concerned, it’s all about keeping the customer happy. Accenture works with some of the country’s largest businesses in data security and privacy protection, helping them to give the consumer more control over their own data.

“We say to our clients: ‘empower your customer’. If you give the consumer or citizen more power to control their own privacy, they will be more loyal, recommend your solutions to others and provide you with further opportunities to develop new solutions.”

LEARN MORE IN OUR ACCENTURE HIGH PERFORMANCE SECURITY RESEARCH REPORT 2017

Author
Gaute Lien

Gaute Lien
Nordic Security Lead

Gaute is the Nordic Security lead at Accenture. He has more than 15 years of experience in the area of Identity and Access, Governance and Risk Assessment Management and have well proven delivery experience in large and complex projects.

Gaute holds several Security Certifications and has been used as Trainer, Lecturer in various situations at an Architected and Strategic level including Trainer for CISA courses.