How Blockchain Technology is making Data Collection Auditable and Transparent
Big data analytics is one of the greatest advancements in modern business and commerce. The ability to draw an unprecedented quality and quantity of insights from astronomical amounts of data and fine-tune business operations has proven to be a technological marvel in the modern economy. While big data is set to only get bigger, its pressing problems cannot be ignored.
Data analytics is a fairly new discipline that has grown exponentially and evolved over the past five years with the advent of computer technology, namely machine learning. With the mass adoption and usage of smartphones and internet globally, vast amounts of data can now be tracked and collected. Yet, the data collection and analytics industry is currently functioning on outdated models that are unsustainable and non-compliant with today’s regulatory demands.
As it stands, the industry is centralized in the hands of a few large data brokerages and data trading networks who don’t usually consider the user’s rights or consent. Having our data in the hands of a few large corporations means they can abuse their access to our information through their roles as collectors or custodians. This can be seen through several high profile leaks and hacks of large databases containing millions of people’s most intimate data.
Those in charge of centralized databases have not proved to be the most competent in computer security procedures to protect the data they have in their possession. The Equifax hack, for instance, resulted in hackers obtaining 145 million Americans’ Social Security numbers, birthdays, driver’s license numbers, addresses, tax identification numbers, driver’s license states and issuance dates, as well as some email addresses. Meanwhile, Singapore recently had its worst cyber attack in history, with hackers stealing the personal information of 1.5 million SingHealth patients.
These massive data breaches have caused legislators to closely examine how companies collect, use, and store data, resulting in new sweeping data regulations. The most far reaching and important of these being the GDPR(General Data Protection Regulation) recently implemented by the EU.
Data is now one of the most valuable resources for many companies across several leading industries. It has been called “the new oil” as data collection and analysis has revolutionized the way successful businesses create their profit models. However, having vast amounts of data is a double-edged sword, as bad data can be catastrophic to a data-driven business model. In fact, bad data can cost between 10–25% of a business’ revenue. The source of data and the way it is collected is essential to its quality. It has been said the way data is collected is as important as the data itself.
Let’s take a look at the effects bad data can have on businesses: (source: Integrate, Data Quality Index, 2015)
How data is collected, sourced, and handled varies and is typically undocumented. To resolve this, data governance should meet two very important requirements: it must take into consideration the way the data is sourced and collected, and it must address and document any changes or manipulations made to the data for analysis purposes. There should be a data specific “chain of custody” that should be adhered to whenever someone analyzes, processes or collects data.
The blockchain is a decentralized, digital ledger that is used to record transactions occurring in a network, secured using cryptographic technology. Due to the immutable and cryptographically verified security of a blockchain network, it offers a way to remedy the issues currently present in the data industry.
