Data, Data Types and DPA

 Data  

A data type is a term used to describe what a bit of data is. For example, strings of characters, integers, etc... 

There are many diverse types of data that can be assigned: 


    • Boolean – a true or false value. Can be represented by a 0 or 1 in most cases. Often used as a flag variable in programming. 
    • Integer – a whole number. Integers can be negative or positive. Integers do not contain any decimals. 
    • String – the string type is a collection of letter characters. This type is quite common. 
    • Floating point – otherwise known as a float, this data type is used for decimal numbers. 
    • Character – can be used to store a single character. 
    • Media – assigned to video and sound. 


Temporal 

Temporal data relates to time. It can relate to a short amount of time such as a sudden event (like a natural disaster) or a lengthy period like trends in the stock market across several years. 


 

Geospatial 

A geospatial data type is a bit of data that is stored with a geographical indicator. Vector geospatial data is represented by polygons and lines. These can indicate geographical features such as cities, roads, rivers etc... Raster geospatial data is represented by a grid system. This can include satellite imagery and photographs of geographical places and features. Raster geospatial data usually makes a more recognisable image than vector geospatial data. Some examples of Geospatial data are:

 

    • Cell phone data – data that is routed by satellite. It can contain coordinates of GPS locations. 
    • Social media – geographical areas that are assigned to social media activity. Data scientists can analyse this data to understand trends coming from physical geographical areas. 
    • Census data – censuses can be used to identify community trends, development, or issues in a geographical area. 


 

Databases 

 

A database is a place where data is stored. Usually, databases are interacted with SQL queries in a program to retrieve or store that data. Databases are particularly important to protect as they may contain overly sensitive information about the users of a company. These things include passwords, emails, and health related information. 

A database stores data in a grid system. This is to make sure that data is easily retrievable. Databases can store all data types. Some examples of databases are: 


    • Netflix libraries 
    • Spotify 
    • Google account systems 
    • Banking firms 

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Databases play a crucial role in the workings of a business online. Databases can store lots of information which needs to be protected. 


The Data Protection Act 

 

Data protection acts are laws which were created in 1998 and 2018 to protect data stored in databases and hold the company liable in result of a data breach. Data protection acts are important as they prevent some companies from leaking or selling your information. A breach of the data protection act can result in large fines that the company must pay out to its users.  


The Data Protection Act of 1998 

This was an act of parliament that aimed to protect all personal data including online and physical. There were 8 principles in this act: 


    1. Data should be controlled lawfully by the company in question. This includes informing the user where their data is going to be stored and to whom it may be given to. 
    2. Data should only be collected for purposeful means. 
    3. Companies may only collect the minimum amount of data needed for its purpose. 
    4. Data should only be kept for as long as it is needed. Companies may not store unneeded data for extended periods of time. 
    5. Users were given the right to say where their data should be used rather than the companies using it for what they want. 
    6. All personal data should be effectively protected by the holding company. 
    7. Data should be kept up-to-date and accurate. 
    8. Personal data must not be transferred outside of the EU unless the company can provide appropriate protection for that information. 


The Data Protection Act of 2018 

This DPA was used to replace the 1998 version. It is a lot more modern and up to date with today’s standards of handling data. There are now only 7 principles covered, with international legislation and security now removed and being covered by separate law. The new 7 principles are: 


    1. Data should be controlled lawfully by the company in question. This is unchanged from the DPA of 1998. 
    2. Data should only be collected for purposeful means. This is also unchanged from the DPA of 1998. 
    3. Companies should minimise data being stored. 
    4. Data that is stored should be kept recent and accurate. 
    5. Data should be kept as small as possible to minimise storage. 
    6. Data should be kept confidential as to protect the integrity of users. 
    7. Companies are accountable for all its user’s data and can be punished for any unlawful activity or security breaches on their part. 


The DPA of 2018 confirms that the Information Commissioner’s Office now can punish both the holder and processor of user data if the act is breached. This is a substantial change from the DPA of 1998 as the ICO could only punish the holder for infringing the act. 

 

Where and how is data stored? 

 

Data can be stored in many separate places. Here are some examples of where data can be stored: 


    • Local storage – Data can be stored locally on your device. The data is stored on the internal storage device such as an SSD or a hard drive. Data can also be stored on a removable storage device such as a USB flash drive or DVD. 
    • Central storage – Data can be stored centrally. This is when data is stored in the centre of a computer network such as in a business. Usually this consists of a centralised storage device such as a shared drive. 
    • Cloud storage – Data can be stored on the cloud. Online services such as Dropbox, AWS, Oracle, and Google Cloud can take your data and store it in large data centres. These are large facilities capable of storing thousands of terabytes of data. 
    • Application storage – Companies can take your data and store them inside their own databases. This is usually used by social media companies such as Facebook. The company storing your data must protect it and comply with all legislation around data protection. Their data protection policies are usually found in the company’s privacy policy. 


 

NAS – Network Attached Storage 

Network-attached storage (NAS) refers to when data is stored over a network. In most cases, at the centre of a NAS system, multiple hard disks are used to store data. This is called a redundant array of independent disks (RAID). Users in the network can access this volume to retrieve and send data into it. 


SAN – Storage Area Network 

Storage area network (SAN) refers to a large network with a central storage device. SANs are usually more expandable than NAS’ and store data in blocks.

 

 

 

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