Application of Data Mining - Essay Example

DATA MINING Data Mining Affiliation Data mining is a process in which data is analyzed in order to present it in a systemic manner of patterns and trends. The information which is extracted from the data can be used for different purposes. Data mining is used to generate revenues, cut costs, or get an insight about the preference of the consumers regarding a particular product. Recently, it has been revealed that the government has also been using an advance form of data mining where they are able to get the complete information about any individual. This means that government has complete access to phone calls, emails, web searches, bank accounts, financial activity, medical records and school records (Garson, 2006; Berson, Smith, & Thearling, 2000). This paper presents an analysis of data mining practices that are used by the government in order to secure or uncover people’s data. Application of Data Mining Data mining has many advantages in different fields. As massive data based on the information of thousands of individuals, is analyzed, this gives useful knowledge that can help in many ways. Data mining helps in saving time of the experts to make assessments on their own. Today, tools like the Microsoft SQL Server, Rapid Miner, Rapid Analytics and many other programs has made data mining accessible to everyday business users (Koutonin & Remarque, 2014). The most important use of data mining is in the marketing and retail business. Data of consumers is analyzed to build models which predict the trend of choice of the consumers in the market. This trend can also help in launching a new product according to the demands and likes of the buyers. Data mining is a useful tool in giving financial information to banks about the illegal activities performed by some clients. It helps in tracking the fraudulent card transactions to protect the clients. Data mining has been employed in health care centers to analyze different aspects of health of the people. It helps in deducing results according to the demographics and its use has shown improvement in the medical care of the patients. Operational engineering data can detect fault equipment with the help of data mining and determine parameters that can help in controlling such activity (Rajaraman & Ullman, 2011). Disadvantages of Data Mining Data mining tools are interactive, understandable and work directly on the data to present results. But, there are many disadvantages that have surfaced with the use of this technology tool. The most widely spread criticism is the breach of privacy of individuals. Tools of data mining are not only used by the organizations and for business purpose but are employed in illegal activities. Personal information is used in unethical way and gives rise to cyber-crimes. The use of social networks, e-commerce forums and blogs give opportunity to different organizations to collect the personal information of the vulnerable users. This information can be used further in exploiting the users in a series of frauds and scams. Security has become a big problem for Multinational Corporation who owns the data of their exclusive clients. This data is accessible to hackers which contains the personal information of different clients and their financial record. This gives an opportunity for the hackers to indulge in offences like identity theft and stolen credit cards. In 2002, Ford Motor Credit Company was a victim of such a criminal act where hackers accessed information of 13,000 credit reports (SCHWARTZ, 2002). Data Mining and Cyber Crime Data mining with its numerous advantages has the ability to become a powerful tool for cyber-crime which affects millions of people every year worldwide. This becomes the responsibility of the government to curtail the illegal activities that arise due to the misuse of data mining tools and to provide security to the common man. However, it is observed that the government has also been under heavy criticism for using data mining tools for the purpose of severe scrutiny on the civilians. In 2013, Edward Snowden, an American who was computer professional, leaked information about the National Security Agency of their internal investigation processes, such as eavesdropping on a large number of people by making use of programs like that PRISM (Han, Kamber, & Pei, 2011). This leads to protests and demonstrations all around America. The American people complained breaching in the personal affairs and Trust. It gave an uncertainty on part of the government that how it can protect the people from illegal data mining activities when the government is itself indulge in such an activity. The government had a plausible explanation to keep a close watch on the civilians. The severe scrutiny is due to the incident of terrorist act on Twin Towers in New York in September 2011. With a growing population of different ethnic groups in America, it is of imperative importance to keep an eye on the people and their contacts. This may help in apprehending the culprits and the people associated with terrorist activities in every way possible (Hand, Mannila, & Smyth, 2001). Implementation of Legislative Procedures The government can help people from the disadvantages of data mining by implementing legislative against identity theft and cyber-crime. A severe punishment backed by the government to enforce law and order and to deter the activities of hackers can bring a stop to such an activity. It will also stop data mining done on large scale on the data collected by corporate organization. The government should make a firm rule for the business organizations that serve their customers online and offline. These business organizations should take full responsibility of the private and financial information of the clients. They should follow the core principles of the Federal trade commission which are choice, access, security and enforcement. The Federal trade commission has played a very important role in offline and online privacy issues. It encourages businesses to use programs that help in securing the personal information of the clients (Garson, 2006). The government should ensure the correct use of data mining tools and by the right people. The government should stress all the institutions and businesses to protect the privacy of the customers according to the law and regulation. Such protection will reflect the interest of the business organizations as the misuse of the personal information of the clients can bring a big loss to the business and a bad reputation to any organization. The safe guarding of the private information of the clients should be the main concern of businesses and institutions as the client’s trust and confidence is at stake. The protection of privacy is also a very important element in the strategy of any business to gain an edge and a better competitive position in the market. Customers will choose those businesses for their transaction which provide security against illegal activities of data mining. The same case is with educational and medical institutions that give complete security to the personal information of the client. Personal Opinion I think the greatest threat to consumer privacy is from the government and the individuals who act illegally with the data mining tools to retrieve the personal information of different customers. We cannot blame the businesses that have the responsibility of protecting the client’s information and have plans of having a strong and trustworthy relationship with their clientele. The reason to trust the businesses and the organizations is that heavy investment is done and they do not want to ruin their reputation in the market. The government should not propose laws that duplicate existing laws rather the government should make sure that the laws are fully implemented and followed by businesses and organizations. The laws which are made for offenders and the criminals that may operate off shore or present themselves online as a reputed business owner should be dully punished according to the law so that illegal activities of data mining should come to an end. References Garson, G. D. (2006). Public Information Technology and E-governance: Managing the Virtual State. Jones & Bartlett Learning. Han, J., Kamber, M., & Pei, J. (2011). Data Mining: Concepts and Techniques: Concepts and Techniques. Elsevier. Hand, D. J., Mannila, H., & Smyth, P. (2001). Principles of Data Mining. MIT Press. KOUTONIN, & Remarque, M. (2014). The Best Data Mining Tools You Can Use for Free in Your Company. SiILSCON AFRICA. Rajaraman, A., & Ullman, J. D. (2011). Mining of Massive Datasets. Cambridge University Press. SCHWARTZ, J. (2002). 13,000 Credit Reports Stolen by Hackers. The New York Times. Read More