PC Pro - UK 2021-12)

@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Realworldcomputing

rumpusastheteamtriedtofindthe
matchingmainspoweradapter.Afew
minutesofchargingandwewereback
tothe3Dtooth-scan.
So,inaboutsevenyearsofproduct
development,thebusinessofusing
3Dcomputerimageryasanaidin
dentistryhasgonefroma“don’ttouch
that!”leveloffragilityandsupport
burden,downto“where’sthepower
cordagain?”Thisisamaterialchange,
ajumpincapabilitythatpromotes
previouslyunattainabletechnologies
outintoeverydayuse.
Andlet’snotlosesightofthe
medicalbenefits.BecauseRichardhad
thescanner,hecouldmakeamapof
myteethatasub-millimetre
resolution,goodenoughtobeableto
sendhisdentaltechniciansthe3Dfile.
They’remakingsome“negativeteeth”
(don’tGooglethat,I justmadeitup),
whichwillthenbeusedasa mould,
allowinganimpressivevolumeof
acrylicfillertobeintroduced,finding
andsealing up manylittleinjuriesand
holesthateludethedentist’s eye.
Asanaside,Richardtellsmethe
scannerandthe softwareareboth
productsoftheremnantsofthenow
almostinvisibleKodakimagingand
filmbusiness,whichwaslargely
wipedoutbyexactly this kind of
capabilityencroachmentonthe part
ofearlyITinnovators.
Allthisbringsto mind something
thatBillGatessaidvery early on:to
paraphrase,thatpeopleoverestimate
theinitialimpactofa technology,and
thenunderestimatethelonger-term
effects. Findingthatmy teetharenow
fixablebya laptop,anemail address
andsomeacrylicis definitelywhatI
wouldconsider“longer-termimpact”.

Strangeideasinbilling
Ifthere’s onethingthatirritatesme
enormously,it’s thelong-winded
consumercrusadeorwarstory.
Sometimesthetediumisfoundinthe
heroworshipimplicitintheideaof
thefearlesswhistle-blower,the
people’schampiondishingitoutto
theMan;othertimesit’sthelumpen
indifferenceofthebusiness,carefully
hidingbehind voicemenusandpoorly
designedwebpagessotheydon’tget
calledtoaccountbyiratecustomers.
Thismonth,though, I hadcause
torecalibratemyirritationto
accommodatea newlevelofmadness:
a suppliermisrepresenting the
demandsofGDPR, to persuadethe
customerbasethatclickingon
unidentifiablelinksin an email
froma previouslyuncontacted
domainisnormalprocedure,and
haven’ttheydoneityet?

Thisisoneofthosecombinationsof

businessandbehaviourthatcomes

fromsuchastrangeplace,italmost

beggarsbelief.Wehave beenusedto

theideathatpeopleneedrepeated

persuasion to adopta particular

behaviour;indeed,forthepast year or

more,thatinsistentrepetitionofthe

restrictionsof a pandemichas taken

overmuchofthe newsmedia.

That’snottheonlypandemic.

Personaldatabreacheshavebeen

growing,infrequency,scaleand

importance allthetime: my mailbox

never eludestheresultanttorrentsof

commentfromIT industrybigwigs

(actually,mostlymiddlewigs)who

wanttohooktheirsecurityproducts

tothe misfortuneofsomeenormous

globalbusinessthathashitthe

headlinesbylosingdata.

Theanatomyofthesebreaches is

exceptionallydifficulttorelate to

everydaylife.Ontheonehand,

companies“lose”(nottherightword

fortheprocess,butnowadopted)

millionsofaddressesin obvious

bulkacquisitions by thebad guys.

Thesecouldbeinsiderjobs,or

classicalhackerbasementactivities,

penetratingthecorporatenetwork

fromoutside.

Whattheyarenot,however,are

failuresonthepartofthecustomers.

There’sverylittleyoucandowhen

yourinformationhasbeenkeptbya

supplier,andtheirinvisible

architecturebecomescompromised.

A pity, really,because a growing

numberofothercorporateswant to

showtheirsafetyandsecurity

credentialsdealwithbreachesby

refusingtotradewithindividuals

whosedetailstheyfindinstolendata

sets– regardlessofwhetherthedata

wasstolenfromanindividual’sPC,or

aspartofsomemassivehacking

exerciseorinsiderjob.

I realisethat theseobservations

don’tespeciallychangetheresponses

youmight have to thevexedbusiness

ofonlinesecurityin2021.Halfthe

problem is that,whileI can’thirefrom

a particular carrentalcompanyinthe

US,I havenowayeithertocomplain

orrectify thesituation.Weallhaveto

usethemechanisms thesebusinesses

present,becausethere’snotwo-way

streethere,noagencychargedwith

brokeringanopenand honest

conversationbetween whatare

actuallybothvictimsofa crime,

companyandindividualtogether.

Whichisa shame,becausegetting

intothecuriousstoryofthefibabout

GDPRandthebillingdetailsissuewas

madea milliontimeseasieronceI

introduced myselftothepuzzleduser

baseandtheautocratic andnot

entirelyhonestsupplier,and

gaveitmybest“don’tyou

knowwhoI am?” routine.

Withintwohours,I was

talkingtothe company’sMD.

Whatithadsentouttonew

customerswasa casestudyin

modernbusiness.Ina cold

startmailshot,itintroduced

itselfasthenewownerofthe

service,havingcompletely

mergedwithandtakenover

theoriginalsupplier.Dueto

thedemandsofGDPR,the

emailclaimed,ithadto adopt a

BELOWJusttickthe

boxandeverything

willbefine,honestguv

ABOVEShowmethe

GDPRregulationthat

saysacompanycanget

awaywithanything

“There’svery

littleyoucan

dowhenyour

datahasbeen

compromised

byasupplier”