Social+consequences+of+the+release+of+sensitive+data+stored+in+databases

//· Business and Employment+Education · Privacy//

Many businesses use databases to keep track of records such as customer information, employee information, goods information etc. However, if this sensitive is released into the public it could cause many issues. Firstly, if customer information such as a customer’s personal details which may include their name, address and credit card number are released into the public it could be used inappropriately, sold onto third parties etc, but the issue is that how this effects a customer’s privacy. Well, if their personal information is out in the public than anyone can access it, and therefore lead to further problems. Another issue is that companies’ sales records are also usually stored in databases, and if the data is sold/released to the public then it could affect the company itself since everyone would know about its sales. Another matter that arises is how search engines such as [|www.google.com] keep a record of your search queries and how this has lead to other problems, for example, Google was keeping track of one man’s searching queries and this data was released into the public and lead to him having other serious problems. Now the issue is that how much privacy does anyone have since everything you do can be tracked down nowadays. Another issue that arises is the release of sensitive data for academic institutions and how this affects education. Firstly, school’s keep records of everything; from student details to the school’s accounts. If this data is released into the public it could mean that private data is released, since no one would want their details out in the public, or no student would want their grades out in the public either. Furthermore, School’s data could also include some serious issues which may include ‘bad’ things about students etc, and if once it is released could harm the student or anyone them self.

1. In most cultures, privacy of the individuals is important. However, there are certain cultures where it is impossible to ensure privacy. These could be related to political or technological issues or the fact that people have been brought up believing that privacy is not critical. There are places where people divulge their salaries without thinking twice about it, but in many countries, salaries are very private and sensitive. It is not easy to change cultures overnight, and in many cases you do not want to change them, as preserving cultures is important. So what overall effect does this have on data mining and privacy? We do not have an answer to this yet as we are only beginning to look into it. We are however beginning to realize that perhaps we do have many of the technological solutions for handling privacy. That is, many of the technologies we have proposed for information security in general and secrecy and confidentiality in particular could be applied for privacy. However we have to now focus on the social aspects. That is, we need the involvement of social scientists to work with computer scientists on privacy and data mining. Next, let us examine the political and legal aspects. We include policies and procedures under this. Note that some of the issues we have discussed are related to privacy and data mining, and some others are related to just privacy in general.[|[1]]
 * __Research:__**

2. Under the mission of **“More Precise Ad Targeting”** Google has created the most incredible spying machine that has ever existed on the face of the planet. They have recorded everything you have ever searched for and attached it to your IP address. In addition, if you use google adwords, [|gmail]or other personalized services they have also added your complete information profile into the mix. I have been using Google Toolbar, Google Adwords for years and Gmail in the past, so all my online activities are neatly compiled in a Google database somewhere.[|[2]]

3. One of the few comforts you can enjoy about [|tax] time is that your information -- your wages, assets, expenses, and personal data -- are shared only between you, the government, and any tax agents you may use. No third parties can use it to target you for advertising or offers. But the IRS may be revising its rules to allow [|tax preparers] to share or sell customer information to third parties and database brokers, as part of a sweeping change to its privacy regulations.[|[3]]

4. Over the past few years, companies improved the security for information that moves across the Internet and other public connections. But although it’s estimated that 80% of all business information is now stored in electronic form (Howarth, 2004), most organizations have done little to protect data stores. The Privacy Rights Clearing House keeps a list of reported incidents going back to February, 2005. The total number of consumers affected exceeds 52 million.[|[4]]

[|[1]] http://www.sigkdd.org/explorations/issues/4-2-2002-12/thuraisingham.pdf [|[2]] http://balafria.wordpress.com/2007/08/16/google-and-others-are-tracking-your-every-move/ [|[3]] http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2006/03/irs_data_sales.html [|[4]] http://www.it-observer.com/articles/1069/data_storage_security/