Originally published at kpmg.com. Akhilesh Tuteja is the Global Cyber Security Leader at KPMG. KPMG ranked No. 11 on The Fair360, formerly DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list in 2022.
Trust in your business is pivotal to success in today’s data-driven digital economy. In an uncertain, ever-evolving environment — where the pace of change is accelerating — customers, employees and investors are choosing organizations they can rely on to provide trusted services.
Amid the rapid emergence of technologies such as 5G networks, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), virtual reality and quantum computing, modern cybersecurity and privacy strategies have a vital role to play in creating and maintaining digital trust.
A timely new report from the World Economic Forum (WEF) — developed in collaboration with KPMG as part of the WEF’s Digital Trust Initiative — warns of a “widening trust gap” between the public and today’s technology providers amid the pervasive adoption of modern digital tech and the proliferation of customer data.
There is no mistaking the reality that trust is critical today to every organization’s brand, reputation, profitability and long-term relationships. Rapidly evolving business systems need to be resilient, dependable and positioned to respond instantly when things go wrong amid the soaring threat of data breaches and sophisticated cyber-attacks.
“Citizens and consumers are beginning to demand that companies and technology developers take their values — around privacy, data use and inclusion — seriously. Where companies are unable to produce technology that meets those expectations, they can no longer expect widescale adoption,” the report states. “People expect better privacy protection, better cybersecurity, better transparency and more-ethical technologies. Right now, companies are not ready to meet this challenge.”
