Privacy in the Age of Big Data
It seems counterintuitive that the more we interact on the web on a global scale the more we are fighting for our individual privacy. Privacy is almost a thing of the past; public interactions have become a way of life, from employers looking at potential employee’s online profiles to someone googling a blind date. On a daily basis, many of us are publicly announcing every detail of our lives from what we had for lunch to the biggest craze, the posting of ‘selfies’.
Privacy in the age of big data has become a serious issue for governments, corporations and individuals alike. Governments have issues with the potential of leaked sensitive information, corporations are worried about hacking and corporate espionage and individuals are concerned with identity theft among other things.
These concerns can make a lot of people and institutions paranoid but in some cases for a good reason. Information is power and the more information that is out there for everyone to see, the more it can be abused to the detriment of some.
Agility is not something that comes to mind when talking about governments. They are big and creating policy can be a slow and tedious. Canada recently introduced anti-spam legislation to combat the use of people’s personally information without their consent.
In this age of big data it’s a very profitable business to collect people’s personal information and then sell it to businesses and governments who use it in various ways. Businesses can use the data acquired to directly market to individuals with targeted ads.
Governments and companies spend a lot of money and time trying to protect their own data. It’s very imperative for governments to protect people privacy as well as keeping sensitive data to protect the nation’s security. Companies as well need to do the same to keep corporate secrets from falling into the wrong hands.
One company that had made its business by keeping data safe is SonicWALL. Dell SonicWALL is a company that has been acquired by Dell that sells a suite of hardware and software products that prevent network intrusions helping governments and corporations curb the amount of data intrusion occurring in the workplace.
Dell™ SonicWALL™ Network Security Appliance (NSA) 3600
These Firewalls, Anti-Spam Filters and VPNs etc. are just some ways to protect data. Even with all the hardware and software available to protect your infrastructure if not installed, configured and managed properly, by certified professionals like System Architects’ Outsourced IT Team, they are not worth the box they shipped in. Often the professional services take a backseat to the hardware and software and as a result companies unintentionally spend more than they need and still have potential vulnerabilities.
There are simple things individuals can do to protect themselves and their privacy. Accessing public networks can be dangerous using a VPN can help from intrusions. Installing antivirus and anti-spam software like Sophos or Symantec and also making sure you have the latest updates. Using two step authentication which I have written about in a previous blog. The biggest ones to avoid, is not to click on unknown links, popups or opening emails that are sent from unknown individuals or have attachments. Surprisingly these are probably the most frequent ways people get their data stolen.
Privacy in the age of big data is possible. By taking some of the steps mentioned in my previous post “Protecting Your Data” https://www.systemarchitects.ca/protecting-data/ and being aware you protect your privacy in the age of big data.
Written by:
Justin Roopnarine
System Architects Inc.