Controlling Information Overload

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Too much information is never a good thing, especially when it’s yours and is in somebody else’s control. Technology consultant Gartner warns that by 2019, over 90 percent of organisations will have personal information on systems that they do not own or control. What this means: Data will be vulnerable to security threats such as hacking. To compound the problem, organisations will continue to be accountable, exposing them to significant privacy risks.

Is there a fix? Carsten Casper, research vice-president at Gartner, believes it is time to create an exit strategy for the management of personal data. “Strategic planning leaders will want to move away from storing and processing personal data in the next five years,” he says.

Take the example of credit card issuers. Strict control requirements have prevented many companies from keeping credit card data on their own systems, instead entrusting it to a specialist. That may be the way out, says Gartner.