Growing Security Concerns: The Breakdown of a 75-Year-Old Security Order

Security has been the same for nearly a century. Now it’s changing.

Since the end of World War II, the world has enjoyed an unprecedented degree of peace and international community. During this time, events like the Cold War have kept people on edge. However, by and large, the modern world unfolded in a state of relative peace, especially considering the earth-breaking carnage and destruction of the first half of the 20th century.

As the 21st century has begun to unfold, the rate of technological change has increased. Data has also come into the spotlight as a powerful agent of change and positivity in business.

However, recent events have begun to show cracks in the 75-year-old security order that nearly every living person has experienced throughout their lives. In the well-informed, post-pandemic environment that we live in, the free flow of information is under attack, and it’s changing security as we know it, especially as it relates to data.

Local and business travelers, in particular, must be cautious. From the ongoing threat of data theft to the suppression of religious beliefs and free speech journalism, the free flow of both information and people from country to country is under attack by governments and agents across the globe.

The Crumbling State of Data Security and Travel Safety

The data-driven world is proving to be a two-edged sword. As old tensions between the West and other more data-restricted areas of the world flare up again, the prevalence and potential of data as a weapon are making international interactions more difficult.

From hackers to trademark and copyright theft, intellectual property is not safe. Recent developments in AI are also making things like disinformation and social influence by foreign powers a greater threat.

Along with IP concerns, Russia has intensified its data-driven cyber aggression. In 2022, the country passed a new law increasing censorship. Anyone who called the Ukraine invasion a “war” was subject to as much as 15 years in prison. In early 2023, the Kremlin even went so far as to detain and incarcerate a U.S. journalist, Evan Gershkovich, on espionage charges.

At the same time, China has beefed up its hostile stance toward the flow of data. Mainland China’s facial recognition and database tracking software allow government agencies to scrutinize nationals, tourists, and business visitors alike in the minutest detail. Everything down to where they go, who they are calling on their cellphones, or what websites they visit could be a target for information collection.

How Data Insecurity Is Impacting Business

The result of this slowly-tightening stranglehold on data is apparent everywhere. Disinformation is rampant — and many use its presence to bolster their own anger and distrust of fellow countrymen and even family and friends.

This has impacted international travel, too. The number of police state minders and agents of the state put both tourists and business people in a precarious position while traveling. These individuals may be an innocent source of data, but they are also vulnerable to random arrests for doing or saying the wrong things, or even simply having the appearance of doing so — as was the case with Gershkovich.

Physical traveling aside, the world of business hasn’t been immune to the collapsing state of data security. As data becomes more opaque, especially across national borders, it constricts the daily operation of thousands of multinational companies.

Managing Business in the New Data Security Normal

The result of all of this negative change in data security isn’t just a shift in how we approach data and analytics. It represents an extreme breakdown of the security order that we’ve enjoyed for the past 75 years. If companies want to navigate that shift with wisdom and a sense of alacrity (rather than doom and gloom), they must stay positive and proactive in their new reality.

“If companies want to navigate that shift with wisdom and a sense of alacrity (rather than doom and gloom), they must stay positive and proactive in their new reality.”

The threat to data security is very real, from IP theft to tracking travelers to losing access to industry insights that modern businesses have become accustomed to utilizing. This is why when our executive recruiters at Stanton Chase’s Los Angeles office fill a position for a client — be it a CIO, CTO, CFO, or any other data-driven job — we look for candidates with the skill sets to navigate this reality.

The current deplorable state of data flow around the world may be a temporary blip as we adapt to the new economic, geopolitical, and technological conditions that surround us. Then again, it could be a new normal that persists for another 75 years. Leaders at every level of the org chart and in every position within the C-suite must be ready to pivot and stay data- and business-safe no matter where things go next.

About the Author

Peter Deragon is a Managing Director at Stanton Chase Los Angeles. He is also active in the CFO Practice Group and Financial Services, where he started his career. He has 30-plus years of experience as a trusted advisor and manager in B2B environments. In his free time, Peter supports charitable organizations, especially those focused on ocean stewardship.