Unchecked Big Tech Monopolies raise Cybersecurity threats

The rise of the cloud didn’t free us from concerns over who stores our data. Where matters, and major cloud providers and big data monopolies host a huge percentage of the world’s data. Thousands of organizations that store and manage personal, business and government data use big-name cloud providers. Smartphone platform companies house and process terabytes of the data that flows through mobile networks. Social networks house and control the data on billions of people worldwide — certainly the personal data of effectively all employees in your company.

And, that creates challenges, too. For example, cyber criminals and state-sponsored threat actors find data held in a central hub a tempting target. It’s time for a wider conversation among security specialists and industry leaders about how to better protect this data. Let’s take a look at the risks and challenges of a big data monopoly.

What’s the Problem With a Big Data Monopoly?

There are many problems with a big tech monopoly from a security perspective. The companies that hold data monopolies are ripe targets for attackers. Many holders of this big data do have thorough security, since they know they’re targets, too. It’s tempting to relax about data on these platforms.

But it’s also true that cyber criminals, state-sponsored threat actors, blackmailers and others all have a giant incentive to go after the monopolies, because that’s where the most data is.

The risk is more complex and subtle than it first appears. For example, it could come from inside the house. Over-privileged authorized users or unauthorized users (such as former employees) can put you at risk of an insider threat. The same goes for partners, suppliers and others with potential access to that data.

Big data monopolies also mean more people might have access to your systems than you know. The giant data monopolies could have over-privileged authorized users or unauthorized users of their own. Partners, suppliers and others might have access that you might not think of. In other words, insider threats in another service can put your data at risk.

Another problem is that as companies get bigger, they have less insight into all their nooks and crannies. A dangerous lack of insight into cloud data can leave them at risk for all manner of hazards, from losing out on business to data breaches and data theft. Threat actors could be hiding inside the big data monopolies already, slowly exploiting the data while avoiding detection.