Public Policy

The average person manages over 150 online accounts, with personal data scattered across numerous databases globally. The escalating trend of data breaches amplifies the threat of identity fraud. We believe in a future where people have full control over their data, ensuring a safe, private, and secure data-sharing experience across digital platforms. Additionally, privacy should not be compromised for access to online services. Intuitive, cross-platform solutions, and tools that empower people to manage their data and identity should be readily accessible.

We also believe in open standard digital wallets. As a Founding Premier Member of the OpenWallet Foundation (OWF), we are a pioneer in the movement towards open-source, interoperable digital wallets. We partner with entities like the Linux Foundation, OWF to drive global adoption of secure digital wallet solutions, setting industry best practices that uphold choice, security, and privacy.

Our commitment to privacy is foundational. And our customer-first approach ensures personal data is processed with the utmost respect for privacy. Gen processes data in a manner aligned with expectations of our customers and strives for maximum transparency. We encourage consumers to safeguard their online presence and use effective privacy measures. While personalized online experiences offer significant value to consumers, it also presents major threats particularly in the context of generative AI. Because extensive data collection is needed for personalization, this can lead to privacy concerns. Another potential risk is biases in AI algorithms that can lead to unfair or discriminatory outcomes. Furthermore, there is a risk of echo chambers and misinformation, as AI-driven personalization can narrow the diversity of information people are exposed to, reinforcing pre-existing misbeliefs or spreading false content.

Consumers should have the freedom to choose their cybersecurity provider, allowing them access to monitor their operating system. This choice empowers people to defend against scams and malware, shifting control from providers to the individual, ultimately creating a more secure digital environment. Some Operating System developers restrict cybersecurity solutions from accessing key system components. The loss of access to these control points not only creates competition issues but, more importantly, it exposes consumers to cybersecurity risks by limiting their use of the cybersecurity products they’ve chosen.

The debate around consumer digital security also extends to online platforms, including social networks, messaging applications and in the future metaverse. Given that most scams, particularly AI-based ones, are disseminated through these platforms, it is important for third-party cybersecurity providers to have access to the online platforms to increase consumer protection against cybersecurity threats.

Avast blocked 10 billion attacks in 2023, a 49% increase year-over-year. And of those threats, more than 75% of all threat detections on desktops were attributed to scams, phishing, and malvertising. This surge starkly demonstrates the urgent need for enhanced cybersecurity skills and awareness. This dire situation underscores the necessity for comprehensive education and a push for cybersecurity competence regardless of factors like age, gender, ethnicity or geography.

In response to this critical need, Gen actively supports organizations like for Women4Cyber to help address gender disparity in the cybersecurity field. This initiative aligns with our broader social impact goals and ESG strategy, which focuses on Cyber Safety education and training, diversity and inclusion, environmental stewardship, and data privacy.

Recent considerable advances in generative AI and Large Language Models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT and Google Gemini (previously Bard) has attracted global interest and provided a useful assistant for a range of everyday tasks. And as this technology gets more sophisticated, so do the threats that come along with them.

Cybercriminals are leveraging AI at an unacceptable level to disseminate fake news, deepfakes, and malicious content. This underscores the importance of safeguarding against potential misuse of AI-generated data to help protect consumers.