An article written by columnist Davis Alves for the Jovem Pan portal clarified some reasons that the author considers will be of paramount importance in elevating the LGPD (Brazilian General Data Protection Law) to the status of the topic of the year 2023.

Since General Law of Data Protection It was created in 2018.Much has changed for both companies and the owners of personal data, who have begun to develop a greater awareness of the issue of privacy and data protection.

Furthermore, since the creation of the law, the world has faced a pandemic that has resulted in the need to migrate to remote work and an exponential increase in online transactions, thus generating a proportional increase in... Cyber ​​scams and attacks.

After going through a period of economic recession, the outlook is that 2023 will bring an economic upturn and consequently an increase in consumption and attempts at attacks by the... cybercriminals.

The expectation is that with the increased connectivity brought about by 5G technology and the expansion of AI, the demand for solutions that prevent these attempted breaches will grow significantly.

Reasons why 2023 will be focused on LGPD (Brazilian General Data Protection Law).

Davis Alves, who is the President of ANPPD, listed possible reasons why he believes that next year, demands for the General Data Protection Law will grow considerably.

• Brazil is among the most digitized countries in the world, ranking 7th.

Data from the World Bank, published in the GovTech Maturity Index 2020 report, showed Brazil in seventh place among the most digitized countries in the world.

"This means that several services (such as passport applications, ID cards, CPF [Brazilian tax ID], certificates, attestations, traffic ticket inquiries, driver's licenses, and receipts), which previously could only be requested in person at official offices or registry offices, are now possible via the internet.", as per the excerpt from the article.

It is important to note that among developing countries, Brazil is the only one included in this group of digitized countries. 

And although this is a cause for concern due to the number of cyberattacks that arise with digitalization, the LGPD (Brazilian General Data Protection Law) ends up being a crucial factor in combating these attacks.

• Cyberattacks have increased by 700% since 2020.

Cybersecurity firm ESET released data showing that since the start of the pandemic, cyberattacks have increased by a staggering 700%.

This increase is due to the shift of work to home offices, where systems are now accessed through home networks that were previously used primarily for online gaming and accessing social media via computers, often infected with viruses.

"In this case, the LGPD (Brazilian General Data Protection Law) helps, requiring companies to also consider residential access (Privacy By Design – Article 6, §2 of the LGPD) within the scope of data lifecycle protection, that is, from conception to the end of data processing.".

• Brazil needs the LGPD (Brazilian General Data Protection Law) to join the OECD.

The OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) is a group of developed countries that Brazil aspires to join. 

However, to be eligible to join this select group, one of the requirements is that the General Data Protection Law be in effect, which will force the country to comply with increasingly stringent regulatory criteria.

• Data protection is now a fundamental right.

In February of this year, the constitutional amendment that includes data protection as a fundamental right was enacted, and this fact brought more responsibility to the country, which has since been among the countries that have specific regulations for data protection.

• The Global Risk Report identified the increase in attacks as one of the biggest risks that countries will face in the coming years.

The Global Risk Report 2021, presented at the World Economic Forum, indicated that the increase in cyberattacks is one of the main risks countries will face in the coming years.

"More and more companies and governments are enabling access to their systems and data online. In other words, they are more susceptible to unauthorized connections, leading to everything from data kidnapping—where exorbitant ransoms are demanded (ransomware)—to attacks that cause network or system downtime (DDoS)."”, as per the excerpt from the article.

Davis also warns of the risk of chaos that breaches of city systems can cause:

"Imagine the chaos that would ensue if the police lost access to the camera systems that monitor the cities or the radio communication between officers! And what about the humanitarian impact if there were an industrial cyberattack on the system that controls the floodgates of a hydroelectric plant, triggering a command to open them without proper planning or warning to riverside communities? Or, from a financial perspective, an attack that would alter the values ​​in banking systems, releasing or denying credit?"

With the increase in risks, the consequence is that the pursuit of compliance with the law becomes increasingly assertive and rigorous. 

Finally, Davis highlights personal data fraud as one of the biggest risks countries will face by 2030.

Imagine the impact if companies or the government of an entire country had the personal data of its population stolen, altered, or lost?! Or worse, the names of... patients at a hospital "Can information be switched in their medical records along with medication?! These are all examples of how personal data fraud can directly impact a country, and for these and other reasons, countries have committed to encouraging actions aimed at reducing the risks of data fraud. The LGPD (Brazilian General Data Protection Law) contributes directly to this, being the national law governing this specific issue, aligned with international laws with the same objective.""That's all," Davis concludes in his article.