The black market of data.

We live in a post-private society, in which, with rare exceptions, everything is known about us. And, first of all, we disclose information about ourselves - in social networks, instagram, on service portals, with the help of various gaming elements (in various tests and surveys), in Internet and even retail stores when using discount cards. As a result of the collection of this information, huge amounts of data arrays are created. And it contains sets of personal information that their owners do not even suspect. Correctly correlated information from such repositories ceases to be impersonal and characterizes a particular person. We can talk about the "digital prints" of the person. After data is created it can be sold by different companies.

Data brokers are notoriously secretive. Paul Stephens, a director at Privacy Rights Clearinghouse in San Diego, says that: “It’s hard to tell who’s selling what to whom.” In fact, it’s unknown exactly how many data brokers operate in the United States, because so many keep a low profile. Credible estimates range from 2,500 to 4,000. There are supergiants in the field—Acxiom, Experian. But there are myriad smaller companies that few have heard of: CubeYou, Exact Data, Paramount Lists, Datalogix, Statlistics.

In addition to a set of generally available and commercially available data, these arrays include information stolen from various sources, from dating sites to payment services. One of the conventionally "safe" commercial goals of using information from such stores is targeted marketing. On the basis of the consumer's portrait, an individualized, as precisely as possible, package of offers of goods or services is formed. For example, the healthcare industry is becoming a potential target for cybercriminals. Personal information about the state of health (medical data), usually includes in addition to direct information about the health of the patient, many other information - from his name and address of residence, and ending with information about the place of work and data of the payment card. According to a Redspin source for information security in the health sector, more than 29 million medical records protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act have been compromised since 2009 in America.

On the black market, medical information is much more valuable than financial payment information - now the estimated cost of medical information is about 10 times higher than the prices for bank card data. If stolen card numbers are sold for several dollars per dozen, then the cost of one medical record exceeds 350 dollars (according to the Ponemon Institute). Medical data is in many ways more valuable than other types of information, because of its "permanence". Stolen or simply compromised bank cards can be replaced, fraudulent operations are contested, but medical data cannot be annulled. For what purposes is the medical data "monetized"? First of all, they replenish the data repositories, after which the information can be used, for example, by swindlers who sell "magic medicines" and "miracle devices" that cure all diseases. A particular value is the results of analyzes of specific individuals, which are important, including when looking for donors. In addition, it is possible to sell mass media information about the health of media persons for use with the purposes of blackmail, political or corporate struggle. For example, the public widely discussed the case of 2014, when an employee of the Swiss ambulance tried to sell media information from the medical map of Michael Schumacher for 50 thousand euros.

There are two main reasons for this problem. The first is a worldwide trend: there is completely no user culture of handling personal information. The second reason is inadequate protection of user data by those organizations that receive them from the client and process them for one or another purpose. The problem needs to be solved in the most complex and synergistic way. Otherwise, the black market of data will continue to exist and develop, legislative measures will not work in full, and each person will remain under threat of using his personal data against him.

You can find more interesting analytics information here: https://analyticsinbusinessworld.blogspot.com/2017/04/monetization-of-analytics-data.html