Leading computer manufacturer Intel (News - Alert) has noted what it believes is a significant roadblock standing in the way of device innovation: the growing threat of data theft. Today, cloud-based technologies link data in a network between as many devices in as many locations as necessary, but that same accessibility leaves this information prone to hacking attempts. According to Intel CSO Malcolm Harkins, this imbalance creates an inherent distrust which prevents larger businesses from trusting and investing in big data tools. “If we don't rethink our practice,” he warns, “it will hinder the opportunities that are in front of us.”
Big Data allows businesses to track user metrics that would be nearly impossible to compare and contrast otherwise, in order to identify larger sales patterns and better-tune business strategies. The more data is collected, the more these big data systems can analyze and interpret, but this also creates a more dangerous target for hacking attempts. Because of this, collecting sensitive, personally identifiable information is out of the question due to the inherent risk it poses.
Harkins refers to the situation as something of a third industrial revolution, with the only thing standing between an explosion of big data solutions is a comprehensive security solution that retains accessibility to the right audiences while keeping hackers out. “It's weird to think that less than 100 years ago, less than 10 percent of households in the UK had electricity,” he explains, “but once it hit a tipping point, it just took off.”
Harkins believes that big data will quickly approach a similar tipping point once data can more reliably be protected. Today's consumers are largely ignorant of how data is used and stored, and thus investors are also shy when it comes to funding innovation within the field to improve security settings. Once the technology proves more reliable however, the prediction is that big data will become extremely popular throughout the business world almost overnight.
Edited by Rory J. Thompson