M. Gary LaFever

Co-Founder and CEO at Anonos - Unlock The Full Value of Data

Nov 17, 2014

Naked or Invisible, which do YOU Prefer? 91% of People Too Exposed You are exposed on the Internet companies track your every move and follow every action you take. Last week a Pew Internet Research Project reported that 91% of adults agree or strongly agree that weve lost control over how personal information is collected and used by companies and 80% using social networking sites are concerned about advertisers accessing data they share on these sites. The increasing volume, velocity and variety (the 3Vs) of big data only make things worse - elevating the likelihood that consumers can be identified by their online and offline behaviors. This can and should generate anxiety and serious

privacy concerns among consumers, potentially leading to state, federal, and international privacy laws being invoked to protect their privacy. Technology developments like the Internet of Things (IoT) in which virtually every product, locale, personal item, mobile device and object would have a unique IP address, making it remotely / wirelessly accessible and capable of providing observational data about users will exacerbate the situation exponentially. The IoT will dramatically increase the ability to track, aggregate, profile and analyze data elements and behaviors that, while they may not directly identify consumers, could easily combine with other data gathering and profiling methods to create a situation that consumers find invasive and creepy. When you stop in at Chipotle after the gym, do you want to get a coupon on your smart phone for the salad instead of the burrito because the network serving the ad knows you skipped half of your workout?

Private browsing and similar attempts at anonymity provide greater privacy but at the cost of the loss of personalized offerings and the potential loss of accountability. With these approaches, the value of information is largely destroyed and the consumer is left to start afresh with each engagement. There is no middle ground. Either youre naked or youre invisible. As noted in the Fast Company article below, despite privacy concerns consumers are eager to provide even more accurate and compelling data to merchants whom they trust. Imagine a future where merchants who earn high levels of trust receive valuable and accurate personal information from consumers while merchants who fail the trust test get nothing. Younger consumers are the most effective at using online privacy settings to control who sees their data. Ian Miller, a doctoral candidate studying the psychology of online sharing at the University of Toronto, says in Fast Company: "Teens understanding of privacy is very real and concrete...They know exactly why they need to restrict their privacy settings because they dont want this one friend to see this one thing. With this knowledge and skill comes some degree of power teenagers are quick to learn how to use privacy settings to their best advantage... for teens and even millennials, sharing data with companies is now going deeper than a simple exchange of value. Young people are not just acquiescing to give their data to companies, they are actively sharing their content with brands they like." Consistent with the above observations, a McKinsey & Company article entitled Views From The Front Lines Of The Data-Analytics Revolution reported that data-analytics leaders are: " unanimous in their view that placing more control of information in the hands of consumers, along with building

their trust, is the right path forward." If companies want to maximize revenues in the new Trust Economy: Consumers need to be provided with trusted controls

that prevent companies from misusing personal information; and

Companies in the business of data analytics and usage must facilitate engagement between consumers and trusted merchants.

Limitations of Traditional Static Anonymity Overcome with Dynamic Anonymity Static anonymity arose to enable information to be introduced into commerce without violating privacy rights of individuals. Unfortunately, these approaches to anonymity have proven no match for re-identification capabilities resulting from increased volumes, velocity and variety (the 3Vs) of big data. Additional information on shortcomings of static anonymity is available in the Anonos October 31, 2014 letter to international regulators on enabling big data value and privacy (Anonos International Regulator Letter). Anonos Dynamic Anonymity overcomes limitations of traditional static anonymity opening up the door to disprove the axiom that You can have privacy or you can have value but you cannot have both. This enables information to be used in different ways by multiple parties in a controlled environment that facilitates unlocking and maximizing the value of data thereby maximizing the value of commerce, research, analysis and other processes while simultaneously significantly improving the quality and performance of data privacy processes. A New Paradigm for the Trust Economy - Trusted Advertising

One of the most important types of intermediary companies are those that facilitate online and mobile advertising. Digital advertising works one way today: personal behavioral data is collected from consumers, profiles are built and ads are served based on what ad serving companies believe consumers are interested in. Its an ecosystem in which the value of personal information is high, but where companies that collect additional personal data risk being filed in the creepy category. However, Anonos builds a bridge between advertisingthe primary source of revenue for many companiesand trust. Anonos Trusted Advertising improves upon digital advertising techniques by protecting privacy, increasing consumer engagement and enhancing value and accuracy of personal data. Anonos Dynamic Anonymity is based on the principle that static anonymity is an illusion and that use of static identifiers is fundamentally flawed. The Anonos system dynamically segments and applies re-assignable de-identifiers to data stream elements to minimize the risk of information being unintentionally shared, while allowing only trusted parties (Trusted Parties) to re-stitch the data stream elements into useful information. This enables use of data only in accordance with permissions established by, or on behalf of, consumers. With Anonos Dynamic Anonymity / Circles of Trust ("COTs"), advertisers are not limited by profiles and behavior models currently used to guess at the interests of consumers. With enhanced privacy from the CoT, consumers can tell companies what they are most interested in without the risk of being stalked online. Advertising becomes more relevant, more targeted and, most importantly, more trusted, enabling the consumer and the advertiser to develop a deeper relationship.

With Trusted Advertising: Consumers do not have to change their behavior in a

way that may be disadvantageous to merchants, advertisers, marketers or to themselves;

The desire, particularly among younger consumers, to provide more information to trusted merchants can be facilitated; and

Undesired actions by state, federal and international legislators and regulators can be avoided.

Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, a professor of business psychology at University College London, noted in The Guardian: "Right now, our digital self is not just managed and sold by others such as our credit card company, our mobile company, our bank, our government it is also highly fragmentedbrokers of our online footprint have a schizophrenic view of our digital selfThere is surely another layer to be discovered, and in this deeper layer sits the answer to who it is that is using a device, who is searching, who is buying. In short, if companies can truly help consumers understand themselves better and make better decisions, they will have a clear incentive to be observed." Anonos Trusted Advertising enables a holistic approach to digital advertising that protects privacy, increases consumer engagement and enhances the value and accuracy of personal data for the benefit of both consumers and merchants. A White Paper with additional details on Trusted Advertising, including the ability to provide personalized information and targeted advertising services across Internet of Things (IoT) devices / platforms as requested by data subjects, is available at http://www.anonos.com/anonos-trusted-advertising/