Tag Archives: Big Data

FTC Is Falling Short In Protecting Consumers’ Data Used By Businesses

by David Lazarus, Los Angeles Times

In California, businesses are required to report a data breach only if it’s “reasonably believed” that unencrypted data has fallen into the hands of hackers. Since 2005, according to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse in San Diego, nearly 896 million consumer records have been put at risk by more than 4,700 known data breaches. The actual number of breaches, said Beth Givens, the advocacy group’s executive director, “is almost certainly much higher but never were reported.” The FTC has asked Congress for more authority to regulate privacy matters. So far, Congress has ignored the agency’s requests. Read More ›

‘Anonymized’ Credit Card Data Not So Anonymous, Study Shows

by Seth Borenstein and Jack Gillum, The Associated Press

The study shows that when we think we have privacy when our data is collected, it’s really just an “illusion” … . The use of so-called “big data” has been a lucrative prospect for private companies aiming to cash in on the trove of personal information about their consumers. Retail purchases, online web browsing activity and a host of other digital breadcrumbs can provide firms with a wealth of data about you – which is then used in sophisticated advertising and marketing campaigns. Read More ›

Data Broker Is Charged With Selling Consumers’ Financial Details To ‘Fraudsters’

by Natasha Singer, New York Times

This week, the Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit claiming that a data broker in Nevada sold intimate details about several hundred thousand people, including their Social Security numbers and bank account numbers, to marketers and other companies that had no legitimate need for that data. Read More ›

Credit Reports Created With Your Online Information Are Mostly Inaccurate

by Ashlee Kieler, Consumerist

More than 64 million Americans are cut off from access to traditional banking because they lack credit history. To better serve these unbanked consumers financial institutions are relying on the promises of big data brokers to accurately determine the creditworthiness of consumers. But is the new method a reliable way to provide affordable access to credit? Read More ›