Category: Tech News

“The status quo has been completely redefined.”

That’s what the Chief Security Officer of Egnyte, Kris Lahiri, says about the GDPR. Most tech watchers tend to agree with him. Without further ado, here’s a brief summary about the GDPR.

What Is the GDPR?

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a sweeping new European Union privacy law. It doesn’t only affect Europeans. Because of the widespread reach of the EU, sometimes referred to as the Brussels Effect, the GDPR has major consequences for businesses around the world. This includes many businesses in Los Angeles.

To cut a long story short, the GDPR replaced an outdated 1995 law called the European Data Protection Directive (EDPD). Since the EDPD was created in 1995, it was totally irrelevant for the digital age. Computer usage and data collection have exploded since the 1990’s, so a change was badly needed. In 2012, the European Commission proposed a comprehensive reform of the EDPD. Among other things, this law was meant to protect consumers privacy, curtail email spam, and make data collection more transparent. Notwithstanding, the law took the slow boat to China. It only gained teeth in May of 2018.

The GDPR is strict. And not complying with it is really expensive. Here are 8 facts businesses in Los Angeles need to know about the GDPR so they can protect their pocketbook.

1)  There Are Heavy Consequences for Noncompliance

Unless you have money to burn, you don’t want to run afoul of the GDPR. Disobeying the GDPR can cost you 20 million Euros (about 23.3 million Dollars as of August 2018). Technically, the fees don’t stop at 20 million Euros. If your company is rolling in money, you can be fined 4% of global annual turnover.

2)  It Doesn’t Just Affect Businesses in Europe

As mentioned earlier, the Brussels Effect is real. The GDPR affects businesses all over the world. If you target a data subject in Europe with marketing efforts, then the GDPR affects you. In particular, U.S. based hospitality businesses, software companies, and e-commerce businesses are especially vulnerable to the GDPR.

3)   Some Businesses in Los Angeles Aren’t Affected by the GDPR

However, it’s only the ones that don’t target European consumers with any marketing efforts. If you don’t sell products to Europeans or collect/buy/use emails from Europe the law doesn’t conern you.

4)   Los Angeles Businesses Are Already Changing for the GDPR

One of the most noteworthy examples is the Los Angeles Times. They’ve shut off access to internet users in the EU. The Chicago Tribune has also closed its doors. Tronc, the company that owns these two outlets (and other papers) won’t risk non-compliance because of the high fees. The GDPR is the real deal.

5)   The GDPR Gives Individuals Eight Rights

The GDPR is incredibly consumer-friendly legislation. It gives Europeans consumers a plethora of rights and protects their privacy. In detail, it gives these eight rights.

• The Right to Access- Consumers can request free access to their personal data anytime. They can also ask how the company is using their data.
• The Right to Be Forgotten- Customers have the right to ask for their data to be deleted.
• The Right to Data Portability- Consumers can request data is transferred from one service provider to another.
• The Right to Be Informed- Individuals must be informed before data (like an email address) is collected.
• The Right to Have Data Corrected- Consumers have the right to have their data updated if it’s incorrect (although, a company probably wouldn’t want out-of-date data in the first place).
• The Right to Restrict Processing- Individuals can ensure their data isn’t used for processing.
• The Right to Object- EU consumers can remove themselves from an email list or a phone list, and direct marketing must stop immediately.
• The Right to Be Notified- If data is hacked, the consumer must be informed about it in 72 hours.

6) May 25^th, 2018 Was the First Day Fines Started

You may have heard about the GDPR for years. It’s officially been on the books since 2016. Yet, fines only started on May 25^th, 2018.

7) Good Faith Attempts to Comply Aren’t Enough

There are lots of articles floating around talking about the effectiveness of good faith attempts to comply with the GDPR. These do help. Yet, the true course of love never did run smooth. In other words, good faith attempts aren’t enough to guarantee you won’t get a fine. If that was the case, the Los Angeles wouldn’t be blocking its European readership.

8) You Can’t Comply With the GDPR in Five Minutes

Applying with the GDPR is difficult. For one thing, it requires all of your emails to be collected with consent from the user. And the burden of proof is on you. Many legacy tech systems make this proof difficult or unattainable. Also, even one email can be a problem. The CAN-SPAM Act has fines of up to $16,000 for each email address that’s wrongly solicited. The law is complex, and if you do any business in Europe you need to spend time understanding it. Otherwise, it may come back and bite you.

Where Can I Learn More About the GDPR?

If you want to learn more about the GDPR, a good place to start is the GDPR Compliance Guide. You can also contact a GDPR expert at Global IT. We’re a managed IT company in Los Angeles. We work with LA-based businesses that sell products in Europe, and we can make your business 100% GDPR compliant.

 

 

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Tech News

It is 2019, women in tech are on the rise and making their presence known in a historically male dominated industry.

Early Education for IT based Careers

Historically, boys have received more positive reinforcement in their pursuit of IT related educational goals, while girls were often pushed to pursue non-tech related fields, but this is changing. According to a Small Business Trends survey, girls have a natural interest in tech related fields that typically peaks at 11 years old. In 2018, more than 38,000 girls took the Computer Science Advanced Placement exam in high school, this is 10 times the number of girls that took it in 2000, so the interest is there and it’s growing. This trend has also expanded to college where there is an upward trend of women graduating with degrees in IT related fields. According to the National Center for Women & Information Technology, more women are obtaining computing degrees, but a large gender gap still exists.

The Workplace

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, women make up about 57% of the labor force. However, women make up less than 20 percent of U.S. tech jobs based on data from virtual event solutions company Evia.

Even with the small percentage of women holding onto an IT position in the tech industry, many are discouraged from keeping their position. In fact, women are twice more likely to quit their IT job. Why you ask? Because of the many different issues revolving around gender inequality, the pay gap and their overall workplace experience with their fellow male coworkers.

Fortunately, this isn’t always the case. Many women in the IT industry find the support they need from fellow female industry peers, focusing on their own skills and abilities and even finding a mentor. In an article written on the website fairygodboss.com, one woman stated:

“There is strength in numbers and the numbers representing women in tech are not currently in our favor—yet. Every unique challenge brings an opportunity to do something about it. Being a woman in tech is a badge of honor. Wear it proud, loud and continue to do the hard work to help lead the way for others. Even if you’re uncomfortable inciting change at your own company, there are plenty of ways to make a difference.”

Michelle Wingard

How You Can Help

Plain and simple – pursuing a career in technology is more difficult for women than it has been for men. A vast number of girls and women do not pursue a career in tech because society tells them that they are neither good or smart enough to take on such a scientific and technological position. The next time a female speaks to you about her passion in tech, shows interest in the field or is currently trying to pursue a career in it, we encourage you to encourage her, support her and remind her that she is capable of taking on such a male dominated field of IT.

Here at Global IT, we believe in providing supportive mentors that encourage young women to continue their pursuit of their tech related goals and we understand the importance of continued support and increasing post-graduation career opportunities in order to do our part in closing this gender gap. That is why we offer mentorship and internship opportunities to young women in high school and college that have an interest in IT. If you or someone you know is interested in learning more about these opportunities, please contact us at info@globalit.com for more information.

 

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Tech News

It appears as though countries such as China and Russia are about to have access to one of the most bureaucratic and government-independent agencies in the world, and there are a lot of people who do not like the idea. But what is really going on and is the situation really as bleak as everyone is making it out to be?

A close look at the ICANN contract with the U.S. Department of Commerce shows that the contract will lapse if not renewed on October 1, 2016. When President Obama decided not to renew the contract, Senator Ted Cruz (who was a presidential candidate at the time he introduced the bill) introduced the Protecting Internet Freedom Act to prevent the ICANN contract from lapsing. The bill is still being considered, but with the contract being allowed to lapse, a Congressional law may be useless at this point.

What Is Going On?

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is the centralized body entrusted with regulating domain names and IP numbers throughout the Internet. It is a body made up of engineers and Internet experts from all over the world, and it was funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce until October 1, 2016. When President Obama allowed the contract with ICANN to lapse, he effectively gave up any kind of leverage the United States had with ICANN.

The act of allowing the contract with ICANN to lapse has been compared to handing the Internet over to China. But a closer examination of ICANN shows that it is basically an organization without a country that has a habit of following its own rules and creating a nightmare bureaucracy for governments to try and work with. In other words, ICANN is proud to operate on its own, and this severance from the United States only allows ICANN to work as an even more independent body.

No one country controls ICANN. There is a new committee in ICANN made up of governments from all over the world, but no one government has complete say in what happens. But should people be worried about China and this new open Internet? Recent information would say that China could very well be a threat to the Internet in more ways than one.

China Is Flexing Its Internet Muscles

Within its own borders, China is making changes to its own Internet that should be concerning to anyone outside of China. China is broadening its Internet resources and making it difficult for Western businesses to make money in China. A document that has many Western businesses very concerned is China’s newest cybersecurity law. This new law forces anyone using China’s Internet to follow all federal, regional, and local Internet laws. This would make it extremely difficult for outsiders to properly access the Internet in China, especially since many local Internet laws are unknown.

It is China’s habit of attempting to maintain control over everything that has the rest of the world concerned. Chinese Internet laws state that any information gathered on the Chinese public must remain in China. The Chinese government also has comprehensive rules on what kinds of hardware can be used on the Chinese Internet, and anyone using equipment that has not been approved is in line for serious legal repercussions.

Is China A Threat To The Internet?

China is the only oppressive country to have spent a great deal of time and money on developing Internet security and information distribution plans. China’s latest cybersecurity laws are open for the public to review, and Western business executives fear that these new laws make it increasingly difficult for Western businesses to make money in China.

China understands that money makes the world go round, and money may even be the key to running the Internet. China is already in the process of destabilizing the global economy through its cheap steel, and now China is trying to keep Western companies out of its marketplace by making its Internet increasingly exclusive.

Now that China has an equal say in ICANN thanks to the U.S. bowing out if its contract with the Internet organization, there is a real possibility that China will continue to use its aggressive tactics to have influence on how the Internet works all over the world, including inside the United States itself.

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