Data Privacy Issues In A Big Data World

There are so many people out there that trumpet the benefits of Big Data (including, admittedly, yours truly), that it's easy to overlook one very frightening implication. Big Data means increased information delivered easier and faster, but a lot of that information is about flesh and blood people who may not take too kindly to having all of their stats and habits collected, processed, disseminated, and analyzed by strangers. Yes, in a world where anything you say online runs the risk of going viral and out-lasting your natural lifespan, privacy is a big issue. Well, to be exact, that should be issues, plural. Here are the biggest concerns when your personal data meets Big Data. Big Data means big privacy problems Data Breaches Even if every single organization, business, government entity, and company absolutely guaranteed the integrity and privacy of your personal information (courtesy laugh ... good luck with that), what about those annoying nimrods who enjoy hacking into databases and uploading it to the public just for kicks? Add to that the professional hackers who have criminal intentions, and suddenly your data is looking uncomfortably vulnerable. It's no wonder that professionals are being told that they need to help people deal with these concerns, as evidenced in the article "Easing Patient Apprehension About Privacy Issues." Your Data, Up For Sale There are far too many companies out there that collect, collate, organized, and sell personal data to businesses. The information that you so freely give to one business may very well end up in someone else's data somewhere down the line. Naturally, the issue here is that you voluntarily gave your information to just one company or group; ostensibly, the recipients of that data should not let it go any further. Kiss Your Privacy Goodbye If any of these data collector/collators get their hands on a particular number of data sets, there's a chance that they could actually identify unique individuals. Now THERE is a scary thought: some company you don't know or do business with, suddenly having your name, phone number, address, place of employment, your base income, what kind of deodorant you use, and the name of your cat. If there's any concept that could send you running screaming into the hills and becoming a Luddite, it's this one issue. You Can Be Discriminated Against Since Big Data information on you could include factors such as race, religion, sexual orientation, income, and credit history, you could be targeted for a form of passive discrimination. Instead of you applying for a loan or a job and getting turned down on the basis of any of those previously mentioned factors, a company with access to the right types of Big Data could see who you were and decide, based on your demographic information, to not even extend an invitation for you to apply in the first place. Is it discrimination if you're not even aware that you're being discriminated against? How You Can Fight Back First of all, make sure that you read the terms, conditions, and privacy policies of any website or business that you are dealing with. Sure, it may be long-winded and you may end up falling asleep at your keyboard, but it's the only place where you will get an idea of what the business in question can do with your information. Don't freely give out your personal information to a website if it's not needed in order to conduct a transaction. If you're going to a website to download an MP3, and they're asking you for your phone number and zip code, that's getting a bit intrusive. They don't need to know how to call you just because you want to download the latest Weird Al song. Finally, don't be too eager to share so much on social media sites. Although it's easy to just start rambling and sharing personal details, especially if you have some good news to share, it could eventually come back to haunt you.