45 Gb of data stored about you on the internet
In 2007 IDC, the analytical company, illustrate that around 45 Gb of data is stored about you in 2007 on the internet.
However, only half of this is produced by yourself, rest is made in the digital shadow beyond your control.
This is systems catching up and storing information about yourself, without you knowing it in most cases. It could be software blogs, email lists, surveillance cameras and so on.
The contrast on the digital shadow gets stronger and stronger, and research illustrate that we live more and more of our lives in the cyber space.
Lack of regulations about storage and erasure of data information is the biggest challenge. Mostly it is anarchy in both the public and the private sector on how the technology is utilized. The regulators are fragmented and segmented, which enables loopholes and lack of regulations in some areas.
Research shows that the amount of data around our persons increase with around 60 percent per year, and is driven by third generation internet like social network spaces and the increasing amount of surveillance cameras around the world, internet telephone and various access mechanisms produced.
The big increase may surprise you, but it leads us into the core of the challenge. The cost of storage is low so one does not bother to erase data, in case you will need it for something else later. It may not be legal, and the information becomes available outside your country borders, and there is very little you can do now.
He opening for EU directive of data storage of individuals, creates a debate which focus on this aspect as well. The cost of storing so much data which increases with over 60 percent per year, creates a wake up call for most of us.
Sadly enough, we may have to have a disaster in this area of data storage to make people open up their eyes and create a debate around this area of private data stored on the internet, its amount, its security and how open it is to the consumer that data is collected and stored about them.
We should care more about this aspect, and begin to ask regulators about where our privacy is protected and what is done to ensure that data collectors are regulated and that the security it taken care of for the citizens.