Big Data and it’s Primary Risks

Evolving technologies can lead to a great amount of ease but can come at a great risk because of Big Data. Big Data is a term that describes the collection of personal data from users and consumers about what sites and information people collect from the internet. This could lead to a great amount of help to come from their devices. This Big Data can allow companies to better match a persons searches to sources online but this collection also has some serious risks that come along with it.

The collection of data can allow companies to monitor your emissions and what you do in your everyday life. For example, Kashmir Hill was able to monitor what his friend, Surya Mattu watched in her household. The company behind the shows can collect this viewing data and recommend similar shows based on their viewing data (Mattu and Hill, 2018.) Another way Big Data can ease their users lives is by keeping past purchase information to allow faster and easier transactions.

The collection of data is at risk for being hacked, which can release all of the sensitive data it has collected to criminals. This breach could be seriously damaging to your life. Anything from your location, financial information, and other private info to many others and would allow them to manipulate and abuse your personal information. For example, an email account could easily be hacked from an outside source and can open many doors within your personal life. Many banks will ask to utilize an email account as a backup method in case you forget your password. Plus, email accounts are notoriously susceptible to malware, like Trojan links and other malicious applications.

An email account, in and of itself, is not very useful. But the more use that comes out of an account, the more likely it is to be susceptible to abuse. “What you are sending, in many ways, is actually a postcard, and it’s a postcard in the sense that everybody that sees it from the time it leaves your computer to when it gets to the recipient can actually read the entire contents (Yen, 2014.)” This security risk is necessary in some ways because of how much dependence we have placed on these accounts. These messages could be intercepted and laced with a virus that could be used to steal your information. But, the majority of the time, a companies security infrastructure is powerful enough to block most attempts at intrusions, along with the ability to have anti-malware detection software.

References:

Mattu, S., & Hill, K. (2018, April). What your smart devices know (and share) about you. Retrieved February 08, 2021, from https://www.ted.com/talks/kashmir_hill_and_surya_mattu_what_your_smart_devices_know_and_share_about_you?language=en

Yen, A. (2014, October). Think your email’s private? Think again. Retrieved February 08, 2021, from https://www.ted.com/talks/andy_yen_think_your_email_s_private_think_again?language=en