Why women's safety should be a priority in technology development. Learn how IT companies can build safer digital solutions through better privacy controls, data protection, secure applications, cybersecurity and responsible AI.
With the help of technology, women got new opportunities; remote working, joining online conferences, financial transactions, receiving education and interacting with other people online. Websites, mobile applications and other online services allowed performing different actions. But the growth of users' activity on such platforms led to the emergence of many safety risks.
Online harassment, fake profiles, identity theft, cyberstalking, unauthorized access to the personal accounts and misuse of personal photos can be among the issues that women face while using technology. But these problems do not relate exclusively to social media sites. Shopping websites, business-related platforms, work-oriented applications and other digital services can also cause safety issues.
And it raises an important question for the IT industry: Are safety aspects taken into consideration by the IT companies in the same way as design, functionality and performance?
Safety of women has to become an important part of the development process of IT companies. Not an addition but an essential element.
Why Is Women-centric Technology Important?
Digital solutions become popular because of the confidence of its users. But if it collects personal data, provides insufficient protection for the account and makes it complicated to set privacy options, then some risks appear.
Let us imagine that we download some mobile application, and it asks to access our location even though it does not need this information. As a result, the location becomes available to everyone. The same issues may concern websites with poor authentication.
Women-centric technology means that the company takes into account these factors while developing the platform.
What Contributions Can Be Made by Different IT Services to Women's Safety Online?
Companies can solve some safety problems during their development process and with the help of cybersecurity measures.
Website Development: Creating Secure Digital Platforms
While developing the website pages and functionalities, one must also consider the methods to collect and protect personal information.
In other words, one should fill out the contact form with the required data, conduct secure authentication of user accounts and protect sensitive information when transferring it. Moreover, at the final stage of the website development process, one should conduct research in order to identify the security risks.
A successful website has to include security as its integral part and not an additional one.
Mobile Application Development: Providing More User Control
Mobile application users are required to accept the request for the access to such data as location, contacts, camera, and other functions of the smartphone. These requests have to be substantiated.
For example, a navigation application needs location in order to give directions while a knowledge application doesn’t. Developers have to ensure that the user understands the purpose of all permissions, gives a chance to change settings, and gathers only required information.
Cybersecurity: Protection from the Unauthorized Access to Personal and Professional Information
Some security measures that IT companies can implement are:
1. Implement additional security with the use of multi-factor authentication
2. Encrypt sensitive data
3. Make regular security assessments and vulnerability tests
4. Store and recover passwords securely
5. Track login attempts
6. Update the software regularly
These measures allow protecting users from common dangers on the Internet and preventing any information leaks.
Artificial Intelligence: Risks Detection With the Help of Proper Human Oversight
With the use of AI, online safety can be improved, since it helps in tracking the actions of online accounts, revealing suspicious content, and assisting in massive amounts of information analysis.
For example, an automated system finds suspicious messages and repeated access attempts but later on such information is analyzed by a human. Sometimes the system might make mistakes and not be able to understand the context, and that is why the role of human analysis, reporting and privacy controls is crucial. Technology has to help in making the decision but cannot make it itself.
The Role of IT Companies in Creation of a Safer Digital Future
Digital security of women cannot be ensured by the efforts of one department or one particular technology. It needs a well-considered strategy, a proper development, testing and analysis of the requirements of users.
The assistance to it can be given by creating safe platforms, reasonable data handling practices, improving applications' safety and ease of access to the digital services. IT companies need to pay attention to the feedback of their users and perform regular analysis of their products.
Security Should Become an Essential Element of Every Digital Innovation
Technology is expected to simplify our lives but not to create new threats for us. Although no website, application or security system can protect us from all kinds of violence, responsible development will decrease avoidable threats and ensure better control over personal data.
At Groveus Informatics, we believe that the user-friendly product is not just the well-developed and designed website or application but also its privacy, security, accessibility and users' trust.
The future of technology will not be just about innovations but also about responsible development of solutions for people.
Comments 0