In the age of 'big data,' organisations have the opportunity to harness the power of information, but also the obligation to protect what data they have in the face of constant threats.
This is true for businesses of all sizes, since even the smallest business cannot operate without generating data on its employees, suppliers and customers. The complexity and volume of data is growing exponentially.
The data explosion extends to the payments system, where transactions are increasingly being made through digital means, including internet banking transfers, digital credit cards and other online payments systems such as PayPal.
Data security is therefore vital, especially in the finance sector, where a huge amount of personal information is kept and transmitted by employers to organisations including banks, superannuation funds and government bodies such as the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). This includes data about employees' salaries, superannuation contributions, ages, addresses and other personal information.
A recent study by global market intelligence firm IDC titled Data Age 2025 predicts that worldwide data creation will grow to an enormous 175 zettabytes (ZB) by 2025. That's ten times the amount of data produced in 2017. Yet data from new sources will raise new risks of breaches to private and sensitive information according to the IDC study. By 2025, almost 90 per cent of all data created will require some level of security, but less than half will actually be secured.
This exposes organisations to huge risks. Data breaches can result in confidential details such as a person's address or salary details becoming publicly available. Reputations can be seriously damaged when privacy is breached, as we saw with Facebook's involvement in the Cambridge Analytica scandal in 2018. Facebook is still trying to manage the additional scrutiny this scandal has raised. Organisations need to take strict measures to ensure the security of their data, particularly customers' and employees' personal and financial information.
This white paper will explore options all superannuation and payroll organisations can use to implement payment related data systems that meet the strict requirements being imposed by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).
