Home Glossary Big Data Big Data The A-Z of Privacy Big Data: Big data is usually characterized by its unprecedented volume (organizations can now capture, store and process much more data than they could previously), variety (e.g. it includes traditional structured data as well as new types of data sources, such as clickstreams, tweets, images, etc.), and velocity (it’s often available in real time). Big data has opened up entirely new opportunities for organizations looking to derive insight, build new products, and make decisions based on information. But the data sets can be so complex they often challenge traditional ways of managing or processing them. From a privacy perspective, big data has brought a host of new challenges, as it’s vulnerable to a number of new, and sophisticated attacks, such as linkage attacks, or tracker attacks. Fear of the risk associated with privacy often keeps businesses from exploiting the full potential of the big data that exists in their organization. Return to glossary
