Cookies help us display personalized product recommendations and ensure you have great shopping experience.

By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
SmartData CollectiveSmartData Collective
  • Analytics
    AnalyticsShow More
    sales and data analytics
    How Data Analytics Improves Lead Management and Sales Results
    9 Min Read
    data analytics and truck accident claims
    How Data Analytics Reduces Truck Accidents and Speeds Up Claims
    7 Min Read
    predictive analytics for interior designers
    Interior Designers Boost Profits with Predictive Analytics
    8 Min Read
    image fx (67)
    Improving LinkedIn Ad Strategies with Data Analytics
    9 Min Read
    big data and remote work
    Data Helps Speech-Language Pathologists Deliver Better Results
    6 Min Read
  • Big Data
  • BI
  • Exclusive
  • IT
  • Marketing
  • Software
Search
© 2008-25 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: It’s Your Life, Starring Your Data
Share
Notification
Font ResizerAa
SmartData CollectiveSmartData Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
  • About
  • Help
  • Privacy
Follow US
© 2008-23 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
SmartData Collective > Data Management > Privacy > It’s Your Life, Starring Your Data
Big DataPrivacySecuritySocial Data

It’s Your Life, Starring Your Data

TamaraDull
TamaraDull
6 Min Read
Image
SHARE

Image

At a recent EPIC Champions of Freedom privacy event, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook finger-wagged some of his Silicon Valley neighbors—without mentioning names Facebook and Google—on how they were using their users’ data. “They’re gobbling up everything they can learn about you and trying to monetize it. We think that’s wrong. And it’s not the kind of company that Apple wants to be,” Cook said.

Image

At a recent EPIC Champions of Freedom privacy event, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook finger-wagged some of his Silicon Valley neighbors—without mentioning names Facebook and Google—on how they were using their users’ data. “They’re gobbling up everything they can learn about you and trying to monetize it. We think that’s wrong. And it’s not the kind of company that Apple wants to be,” Cook said.

More Read

Image
First Look: SAP Predictive Analytics Update
7 Key Industries Being Transformed by Data Savvy Virtual Agents
Marketers Leading the Charge to Unlock Value from Big Data
Introducing the Knowledge Worker [VIDEO]
Data Visualization and BI Tools Selection

He went on to say, “We believe that people have a fundamental right to privacy. The American people demand it, the constitution demands it, morality demands it.”

That sounds really good, especially to an audience of privacy professionals and customers, but let me get this straight. There’s no question that Facebook and Google are keeping themselves front and center in the data privacy and usage discussions, but wasn’t it just last fall when Apple’s iCloud got hacked and embarrassing nude celebrity photos were released? Apple, you say that you’re not in the business of selling your users’ data, but how well are you protecting it?

This got me to thinking: What’s worse—having my data sold or having my data stolen? Regardless of my answer to this question, you may answer the question differently—and that’s what makes this privacy/security discussion so challenging. Personal moral standards may not be the best driver as we try to establish a broader-based set of big data privacy guidelines.

The current data breach stats. It seems like every day we’re hearing about data being stolen (a.k.a., data breaches), so I decided to investigate further. The 2015 statistics below come from the Identity Theft Resource Center, who’ve been tracking security breaches since 2005.

As of July 21st, 2015, there’s already been 436 reported data breaches in the U.S. alone: 

Image

You’ll see that I also included the 2014 totals for some hypothetical considerations:

  • # of breaches: The 2015 breach rate (# of breaches per week) seems to be holding steady as compared to last year. We’re on track to hit 781 breaches this year.
  • # of records: At our current rate, we’re on target to exceed 240 million stolen records this year, which is almost 3X more than last year.

Even though it feels like the number of breaches is increasing, the real impact is the volume of data that’s being stolen. In other words, on average, more data is being stolen per breach. Is that because there is more data to steal—since we, the people, are generating more of it through our many devices, sensors, and online activity? My take is yes.

And then there’s Ashley Madison. You probably noticed that the above stats don’t include this week’s Ashley Madison hack job. That will add one more breach and 37 million more records to this year’s tally. For a site that promised their users’ ultimate privacy in their extramarital encounters, they certainly fumbled when it came to protecting their users’ data.

But they didn’t just fumble once; they fumbled twice.

This International Business Times article reports that John McAfee—yes, that McAfee—went in and hacked the Ashley Madison site again, just days after the initial hack and threat to release user details. It wasn’t that hard for McAfee to do; nor was it hard for him to figure out what kinds of folks frequent the site.

Lesson learned: If you’re going to make a big deal about privacy, then you need to make a big deal about securing that privacy. I wonder how Ashley Madison users would now answer the question I posed earlier: Which is worse—having your data sold or having your data stolen?

One final thought. Remember how Apple was finger-wagging other companies for making money off your data? Well, it seems that Apple was recently awarded another patent to do just that. Seriously. Which just goes to show that…

Every character you type, tap, swype, or speak is leaving a digital trail of where you’ve been and what you’ve said and done. And there are both good players and bad players out there taking advantage of this digital trail. Even though you don’t have any control about how these data players are going to use/misuse/abuse your data—regardless of what they say—you do have control over what and how much data you’re going to share online.

Be mindful of your digital content and don’t be naïve in believing that anything you put online can be 100% “safe.” Because it’s not. Just ask the Ashley Madison users.

TAGGED:The Big Data MOPS Series
Share This Article
Facebook Pinterest LinkedIn
Share

Follow us on Facebook

Latest News

sales and data analytics
How Data Analytics Improves Lead Management and Sales Results
Analytics Big Data Exclusive
ai in marketing
How AI and Smart Platforms Improve Email Marketing
Artificial Intelligence Exclusive Marketing
AI Document Verification for Legal Firms: Importance & Top Tools
AI Document Verification for Legal Firms: Importance & Top Tools
Artificial Intelligence Exclusive
AI supply chain
AI Tools Are Strengthening Global Supply Chains
Artificial Intelligence Exclusive

Stay Connected

1.2kFollowersLike
33.7kFollowersFollow
222FollowersPin

You Might also Like

Image
Big DataData ManagementPrivacy

You May Not Be as Anonymous as You Think

7 Min Read
Image
Big DataPolicy and GovernancePrivacy

Big Data and the Internet of Things: Two Sides of the Same Coin?

8 Min Read
Image
Best PracticesBig DataData ManagementKnowledge Management

Connecting the Data Dots Keeps These Companies Alive

6 Min Read
Image
Big DataPrivacySocial Data

PII, Anonymized Data, and Big Data Privacy

5 Min Read

SmartData Collective is one of the largest & trusted community covering technical content about Big Data, BI, Cloud, Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, IoT & more.

data-driven web design
5 Great Tips for Using Data Analytics for Website UX
Big Data
ai chatbot
The Art of Conversation: Enhancing Chatbots with Advanced AI Prompts
Chatbots

Quick Link

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Follow US
© 2008-25 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Go to mobile version
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?