Why do big hacks happen? Blame Big Data
“Databanks likely far too big”
Equifax, one of the largest credit reporting agencies, revealed on Thursday that it was hacked back in May, exposing the personal data of up to 143 million people. The data accessed by hackers contains extremely sensitive information like social security numbers, consumer’s names, and more.
This breach is a huge failure of cybersecurity, which raises many pressing privacy concerns. But it also illustrates a fundamental problem of the data economy as a whole: databanks like Equifax are too big. Consumer credit agencies like Equifax are part of the multi-billion dollar data broker industry, which is based on collecting, analyzing, and selling thousands of data points about individual people.
These companies are essentially able to accumulate as much sensitive, personal data as they can get their hands on. There is an urgent need for strict regulations on what types of data companies can collect and how much data a company can possess, both in aggregate and about individuals.
Security of data has been an incredibly important topic to users. This article calls out an important talking point that has been swirling in the data industry for some time, that is, what is an ethical collection of data, and how can companies better protect their data collections? Both are extremely important, as many obviously believe that their sensitive data should have a guaranteed protection, or else it shouldn’t be collected.
Big Data 50 – Companies Driving Innovation in 2017
“Some of the coolest firms operating now”
Evaluating new and disruptive technologies, as well as when and where they may prove useful, is the challenge. Against the rapidly evolving big data scene, this year, Big Data Quarterly presents the newest “Big Data 50,” an annual list of forward-thinking companies that are working to expand what’s possible in terms of collecting, storing, and deriving value from data.
DBTA released their annual Big Data 50 list, which include the top companies driving innovation within the big data industry. Along with naming top companies, the article also points out multiple predictions and current analysis of specific markets within the big data industry. Notable names included on the list are: Amazon Web Services, Dell EMC, IBM, MapR, Microsoft, Cloudera, and Splunk.
How Big Data Is Helping Professional Sports
“Revolutionizing game preparation”
The use of analytical data is not solely limited to being used as a development tool for individuals and team in terms of performance but is also in popular use by clubs and leagues as they assess the interaction between fans and their stars.
Coaches Find New Ways of Developing Their Players
In the past sports relied largely on the naked eye to make a decision about the performance of specific players and teams which have now been placed in the hands of a large analytical and statistical department analyzing every aspect of the performance of a player and team.
Open to all but mainly to the richest sports
The use of big data has trickled down to the performance analysis provided for those choosing to run or walk for fitness and use mobile devices to track their distance, time, and other performance related statistics is available for all. Major sports teams and coaches have been working with analytical teams and software for a number of years with many of the world’s best-known soccer coaches leading the movement towards a technologically advanced form of coaching.
Big Data Impacts Every Aspect Of A Team
Almost every aspect of a team and club can be affected by the growing use of big data including the interaction of a club with its fans to make sure the social media interactions of fans and club reveal the impact on each spectator.
Big data is finding new use cases every day, and this article details the sports industry specifically. This big data trend is beginning to create competitive advantages in the leagues it’s being utilized in, and larger franchises that have enough disposable cash are willing to bet that data analytics will help them win.
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