You can have data without information, but you cannot have information without data. – Daniel Moran
Data mining is a relatively new term for an information usage technique that has been around as long as people have been gathering and analyzing it to draw conclusions, create statistics and predict trends. In a modern context, it is the technique of developing sort criteria to sift through mountains of non-related, often non-personal information and craft a profile, frequently to the benefit of the consumer.
You most likely give information freely to data miners on a regular basis. Say for example you use your club card at your supermarket which records what you buy when an item is scanned. Your purchases are fed into a computer and data miners collate a profile of your shopping preferences so at the cash register with your purchase, a coupon will print out that you are likely to use on your next purchase based on your history. This is a win-win service~ you win by getting a coupon that you will actually use, the store wins when you buy that product and the manufacturer wins because it has found a person who will use that specific type of product.
Responsible businesses who do data mining and create these profiles can take the lead to create an attitude of service to their customers, employees and consumers. The successful use of this consumer service model can be seen in several Internet booksellers who collect personally identifiable information (pii) and refer titles that match the reader’s preferences- thus educating their customer with the value-added benefit of providing new opportunities they may not have otherwise had.
Other data mining applications that use pii are being implemented. These include our government’s search for potential terrorists, the comparing of prescription drug users various medications for possible harmful interactions and comparing library cards holders with the books they’ve borrowed. It’s when the pii comes in that privacy and information security issues are at stake.
“Privacy” really means the “appropriate use of information” which is defined by law, public sensitivity (one’s expectation of privacy), and context. “Security” on the other hand is the “protection of the information” as defined by who has access, what information is most sensitive, and who can manipulate the data. I have been in the data industry for the last 20 years prior to founding Privacy Solutions and know that there are high road and low road uses of the information. After all, data is neutral. And, as history as shown, we can find statistics to prove most any hypothesis we have.
Be sure your business is taking the high road of information use.
