Hi there,

When is end-to-end encryption not really end-to-end encryption?

That’s a question worth asking the Five Eyes intelligence alliance – including New Zealand and Australia – as they again attempt to mandate that messaging platforms insert backdoors to enable law enforcement to access citizen’s communications.

They argue – quite legitimately – that encryption creates challenges for criminal investigations and allows criminals, particularly those involved in child porn and terrorism, to continue plying their trade with impunity.

At the same time, encryption protects personal data, privacy, intellectual property and the likes (not ignoring that we give those away freely in return for using the platform in the first place).

But encoding backdoor access is fraught and the opportunities for abuse are obvious – Five Eyes themselves admit that it’s vital in protecting human rights defenders, journalists and others in ‘repressive’ states. Still, they want backdoors.

Unfortunately, this is one example where there is no middle ground. Introducing a back door for some, introduces it for everyone.

Five Eyes might be better picking other fights than this one.

In other news:

Covid’s impact on digitisation goes under the ruler
Analytics are awesome. Except they're not say marketing leaders
Virtual care pushes doctors’ blood pressure up
R&D changes hit NZ and Australia
Who’s winning big at DX? IDC Awards highlight A/NZ achievements

Before we leave you for the week, we’d like to encourage you to take part in the digital skills survey currently underway. The survey, run by NZTech, will provide an evidence-based picture of the digital skills needed by organisations in New Zealand and help inform the development of better education pathways for the tech sector – never more critical than now, with no sign of our borders reopening anytime soon.

Please, make sure your voice is heard, both at the polling booth and by the tech sector! (and you can add Eden Park to that list too).

Enjoy the read,

Heather Wright
Editor
editor@istart.co.nz

ENCRYPTION

Five Eyes prises encryption backdoors

Andrew Little, Peter Dutton among signatories…

NZ and Australia have renewed calls for back doors in encrypted products, claiming end-to-end encryption ‘creates severe risk to public safety’.

“Encryption is an existential anchor of trust in the digital world [but] particular implementations of encryption technology pose significant challenges to public safety.”

[Read more]

DIGITISATION

Just how much did Covid accelerate digitisation?

McKinsey and PwC surveys offer up some tangible figures…

Covid has been the burning platform, making BAU an impossibility and accelerating companies’ digitisation by around 10 years and pushing them over the technology tipping point.

“The results suggest that companies are making these crisis-related changes with the long term in mind.”

[Read more]

ERP BUYER'S GUIDE

ANALYTICS

Marketing analytics: A big annoying pain in the butt

Nearly half of CMOs “unable to measure marketing ROI”…

If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it, they say.

“Marketing leaders are either optimistic about the future potential of marketing analytics, or are so far ‘in the hole’ with their investment that they don’t want to turn around.”

[Read more]

HEALTHCARE INVESTMENT

The new healthcare crisis

Covid-19 admin overload, virtual consults leading up stress and burnout…

Covid-19 has driven home the lack of investment in health IT, with extra admin driving up the blood pressure for local healthcare providers – but it’s also spurred much needed investment and change.

“Technology will be at the forefront of every discussion in the healthcare sector moving forward.”

[Read more]

WEBINAR EVENT

A practical guide to digitising CX webinar

R&D REFORMS

Aussie Govt scraps much-loathed R&D reforms

It’s a new RDTI landscape on both sides of the Tasman…

There have long been calls to amend Australia’s RDTI scheme with many big name companies among those venting their spleen earlier this year, as the Federal Government moved to cut R&D costs.

“Research and development, the adoption of digital technology, and affordable and reliable energy will be critical to Australia’s future economic prosperity.”

[Read more]

IDC DX AWARDS

IDC celebrates tech-enabled resilience with DX Awards

And the winners are…

Australian non-bank lender GetCapital and New Zealander’s Inland Revenue have been the big winners at this year’s IDC Australia and New Zealand Digital Transformation awards, each scooping two awards.

“The awards celebrate the tech-enabled resilience of enterprises as they reimagine their business in the new normal.”

[Read more]

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