Data is indeed the answer to business problems in the 21st century. It helped establish Google as the dominant search engine, is behind the enormous leverage Facebook enjoys, and has vital implications for businesses. Already sold on Hadoop and the whole idea about big data, businesses feel the technology enables them a deeper insight into problems and scenarios, allowing them to create better products. However, big data is having some surprising other applications also. More importantly – network security.
Better security
It has been a long battle between system engineers and hackers, with no possible end in sight. But big data may just have the answer to the problem. The main idea is that datasets connected through big data can store and process an enormous amount of information, down to the last detail. That means every single access point can be monitored, and every flow of traffic measured for resources and direction. Ultimately, this means the attackers methods can be second-guessed and defeated, making the network more secure. This was traditionally not possible as tools focused only on preventing a known set of problems.
Privacy concerns
While it’s clear big data has good news for security, the privacy concerns are getting louder day by day. The FDA has issued guidelines for companies to disclose and inform about the data they are collecting, but that does not seem to be working as users hardly read the software licenses. Going forward, these concerns will need to be addressed more strongly.
Finally, we must not forget that big data is still in its early stages, and so should not be seen as a cure of each and every problem businesses are facing. It’s just added intelligence that needs to be used carefully.
