BUSINESS NEWS LESSONS

Scans and scams – Brazil’s data theft

disaster
1 Warmer

a. Think about the different kinds of advanced technology. What do you think these types
of technology are used for and where could they be located? How do they compare to
each other?

2 Key words

a. Read the definitions and match them to key words in the text.

1. friendly and pleasant (1)

2. strong disagreement, especially with what people in authority think or with what the majority of

people think (2)

3. the process of using something (4)

4. technology that monitors what a user is doing which is often used for malicious or political gain

(7)

5. people who publicly support a particular policy or way of doing things

(7)

6. amounts of money that you get when you are not expecting it, especially large amounts

(7)

7. dead (10)

8. a humorous drawing usually found in a magazine or newspaper (11)

9. a tendency to be hopeful and to expect that good things will probably happen (13)

10. small businesses that are only just being launched (13)

11. for the purpose of giving advice (13)

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12. to be more important, useful, or valuable than something else (14)

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b. Below is a review on an employment review website, written by a former employee who is less
than satisfied with their time there. Complete the review with the correct key words.

Bold Tech – Avoid At All Costs!

I’ve worked at my fair share of (a) and was attracted to smaller businesses
that support innovation. However, the senior managers at Bold Tech are awful!

Management are oppressive and the second they sense (b) , they
unleash a new set of rules for employees to comply with. The need to maintain control
(c) the benefits of promoting original thinking.

The senior team have been most intent on shutting down creative approaches in project management
and project managers are often first to the slaughter. A lack of (d) in these
roles has led to a wave of resignations and fleeing employees are looking for new opportunities that
will allow them to apply their skills effectively.

The Human Resources department has also been badly affected by bullying – two senior employees
have been abusive to a colleague, spreading rumours about them and undermining their capability
in front of others. Worst of all, a rude (e) and nasty comments targeting a
female member of staff handling payroll was circulating among senior executives. A junior employee
was accidentally copied into the email receivers’ list and it’s since become common knowledge.

Senior managers have been threatening to install (f) on employee

computers if they don’t increase productivity quickly. They claim this is simply to monitor time spent
on key tasks and look for ways to improve processes, but its (g) will only
upset staff further. Some colleagues think they’ve installed it already and are hiding the truth.
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Brazilians’ love affair with tech leaves
them vulnerable to data theft
MASSIVE SECURITY BREACHES SHOW THE NEED FOR INCREASED PUBLIC AWARENESS OF RISKS
BY BRYAN HARRIS
1 I only realised how strongly I felt about facial
recognition technology when it tried to scan my face.
Following a stint working from home, I returned to the
FT’s Brazil bureau to find the amiable security guard
had been replaced by a bank of automated scanners
deciding who could enter and leave the building.
2 Never mind that the tech does not work with masks,
the one accessory that has defined the past year.
Nor that — like Brazil more broadly — the building’s
basic infrastructure is lacking. Most confounding
was that nobody seemed to care. Within days
of installation, the management had registered
biometric facial data for the building’s hundreds of
users, with the only peep of dissent coming from your
correspondent.
3 “Brazilians are very early adopters — they have a
trust in tech that is almost unique in the world. They
are generally happy to have their face scanned”
if it makes life easier, says Danilo Doneda, a data
privacy lawyer.
4 Brazil has gone digital with gusto, with citizens
spending on average nine hours every day online,
second only to the Philippines. The country also has
one of the highest rates of social media usage and
was selected by Facebook’s WhatsApp last year for
the launch of its digital payments service.
5 “[Handing over data] is accepted to be part of a
system which recognises them. For example, tens of
millions of Brazilians are on government assistance
programmes. In order to keep those benefits, they
have to hand over their data. This is a poor country
that is getting poorer — you have to take that into
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consideration,” says Doneda.
6 But it goes beyond access to state assistance. Enter
a bar and you may have to provide your CPF — a
tax identification number. Purchase an item at a
pharmacy and they may demand it.
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7 Privacy advocates warn this casual approach to
data makes Brazil vulnerable to spycraft and data
theft from criminal groups and state-backed players.
Countries are selling new technologies across the
continent, dispensing the hardware relatively cheaply
but reaping windfalls elsewhere, such as in the
collection of data.
8 The presence of China’s Huawei in Brazil’s telecoms
infrastructure, for example, only become an issue
when the Trump White House exerted political
pressure on Brasília.
9 “The facial recognition industry is targeting here
because they can’t sell it in Europe or the US. Brazil
is a second grade market,” remarks Doneda.
10 Brazil’s vulnerability has been exposed in two
security breaches since January. Data, including tax
numbers, facial images and addresses, belonging
to 223m people — the entire population plus 10m
deceased — were leaked online and are now for sale
on the dark web.
11 Data protection experts were aghast. But the wider
reaction was muted. The sentiment was summed
up by a wry newspaper cartoon: “The data of 200m
Brazilians were leaked. Could they have discovered
something about us?” says a homeless man to his
partner. “If they discover that we exist, it would be
great,” she responds.
12 Luca Belli, a data expert and law professor at the
Getúlio Vargas Foundation, says Brazil is clearly
vulnerable to data theft, and an epidemic of credit
card fraud and identity theft is the most obvious
sign of the problem. “Personal data is harvested at
scale with little concern for protection. That all the
population’s personal data were leaked gives us an
idea of the state of play.”
13 There is cause for some optimism. Brazil’s Congress
late last year enacted a data privacy law that sets out
citizens’ legal rights, including regulations for facial
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recognition. Belli believes the law could give
start-ups and consultancies opportunities to offer
advisory services on the new rules. But he warns
that for the law to be effective there needs to be a
campaign educating the public about their rights.
But this is unlikely to have the backing of either the
government or the big tech groups.
14 Back at the FT office, the IT officer in charge of
the facial recognition rollout is unimpressed by
my concerns. For him, the physical security of the
building outweighs concerns about data protection.
My crusade against Big Brother — much like
Brazil’s — looks set to be a long one.

Bryan Harris, 6 April 2021.

© The Financial Times.
All rights are reserved.
Articles republished from the Financial Times.
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3 Understanding the article

a. Underline the correct phrases to fill the sentences.

1. The author of the article has returned to the office after a period of remote working and has found
the security guard has been replaced with scanning technology/promoted to a position in reception.

2. Masks presented a problem for the new equipment, which is unable to grant access to security
codes/accurately register a person’s face.

3. Brazil is unlike other countries because lawyers have educated the public/citizens trust technology
and have been quick to adopt data collection methods if it saves time and makes life easier/if it
enables them to connect with clients.

4. Many Brazilians rely on the government to notify them of changes in the law/provide them
with benefits and pressure has been put on them to supply data in order to keep accessing
these privileges.

5. The country could become the target of worse data crime/first to reject this new technology and
other countries could learn from Brazil’s experience/access sensitive information.

6. Other territories are refusing to buy/have been researching facial recognition technology, including
the US and countries in Europe.

7. Brazil has already been negotiating with China/faced two major security breaches since January
2021 and personal information relating to the entire population/senior government officials has
been leaked online.

8. Brazil has been badly affected by foreign opinion on the matter/credit card fraud and identity theft,
which proves the country’s vulnerability.

9. The public should be educated about/warned to avoid the new data privacy law, but it is unlikely
that big tech companies will understand/the government will support it.

10. An IT officer believes that the security of the office/personal security of visitors is more important
than protecting people’s data.

4 Business Language

a. Match the idioms with the correct meanings.

1. crusade against
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2. the dark web

3. the state of play

a) a part of the internet that cannot be accessed using conventional browsers, often used for illegal or
criminal activity
b) the way in which something is happening or developing
c) an effort over a long period of time to achieve something that you strongly believe is morally right
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5 Business Language – Compound nouns with three words

a. Reorder the words to make compound nouns. One set does not need to be reordered.

1. service payments digital

2. programmes government assistance

3. data biometric facial

4. recognition facial technology

5. lawyer privacy data

6. tax number identification

7. credit card fraud

8. protection data experts

b. Match the compound nouns with the words groups.

a) scanner / features / security / camera / machine

b) represent / courtroom / judge / rules / occupation

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c) application / benefits / disabilities / support / low-income

d) third-party / finances / bank / funds / tech

e) accountant / unique / code / personal / government

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6 Discussion Questions

a. Discuss these questions.

• Do you think most people would be comfortable with the widespread use of facial recognition
technology in shops and other public places?

• Which community services are likely to utilise facial recognition technology to improve
public safety?

• Which industries might have benefited from the widespread use of masks used to protect us
from a virus?

7 Wider business theme – Human vs Machine

a. Work in pairs to do the roleplay. Read the role descriptions for A or B.

You are a traveller who is about to fly out for their holiday, but you notice a line of facial scanning
technology checking people’s passports at the airport. The scanning tech works by matching people’s
faces with their passport pictures. You are very unhappy about this – you believe that it is invasive and
wrong and that we should go back to being greeted by real people. You decide to confront a human
security guard who is standing close to the machines. You think facial scanning tech makes people who
are camera shy feel uncomfortable and causes travellers to feel anxious before their flight. It might also
malfunction and cause delays that could have been avoided. You quickly find out that the security guard
has got a few things to say about facial scanning tech too …

You work for airport security, manning the facial scanning technology stations in case human assistance
is ever required. The scanning tech is used to match people’s faces with their passport pictures. You are
confronted by a traveller who is angry about the use of facial scanners. They believe that it is invasive
and lacks the human touch. However, you are prepared to defend their use, believing that they have
many benefits. These include the fact they are more accurate than the human eye, they prevent travellers
attempting to bribe security officers and the robot the travellers communicate with is friendly and efficient.
However, the traveller is only too prepared to fight their corner …
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