How Big Tech is Finally Tackling Cybersecurity

Tech companies have been at the center of data privacy issues, and thus the large tech companies (Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Apple) have invested large sums of money ($2.5B total) and resources into increasing cybersecurity and data privacy, as they are responsible for millions of people’s personal data and many corporations’ data. This article breaks down what each company is doing to combat cyber threats.
Facebook has been under scrutiny after multiple data breaches that have resulted in over 90 million people’s profile information being leaked. Thus, Facebook has taken measures to protect against cyber threats and data breaches of its users. These include encrypting messages, hiring over 10,000 staff members specifically focused on boosting the cybersecurity of Facebook, using artificial intelligence to increase data security, and investing in startups that will help them boost their cybersecurity.
Amazon has not had nearly the level of data breaches that Facebook and other big tech companies have had. However, there have been several security breaches through Amazon Web Services, as Amazon lets the data protection responsibility lie on its clients, including Uber, Netflix, and Time Warner. As a result of these breaches, Amazon has vowed to not let that responsibility lie on their clients, but rather themselves. It has also invested in software to protect its users’ information, such as GuardDuty.
Microsoft is taking the approach of focusing on protecting individuals from cyber attacks, but also protecting U.S. elections from being hacked by foreign actors. For the individual scale, Microsoft has invested in AccountGuard, a system that offers threat detection and protects accounts against cyber attacks. They have also invested in a program called Defending Democracy Program, which is aimed at stopping organizations that underpin democracy from meddling in elections.
Similarly, Google has also approached cybersecurity on an individual level, as well as for U.S. elections. Google has taken measures such as limiting apps that request access to Gmail accounts, using 2-step verification for sign-ins, and investing in software and services that boost cybersecurity such as Chronicle, Project Strobe, and Virus Total.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has been very vocal about the dangers of data privacy in big tech. As a result, Apple has taken many steps in increasing cybersecurity and data protection through its services. These include partnering with Cisco, Aon, and Allianize to increase security capabilities and ransomware defense. Apple has also embedded anti-tracking features such as Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP2), which makes it much more difficult for marketers to track data of users who are exposed to ads on Safari.