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By Root 928 0

analysis, and observation is not limited to the workplace. Digital devices for paying tolls, computer diagnostic equipment in car engines, and global positioning services that are increasingly common in passenger vehicles record every mile driven. Cellular telephones and personal digital assistants record not only call and appointment information, but location as well, and transmit this information to service providers. Internet Service providers (ISPs) record online activities; digital cable and satellite record what we watch and when; alarm systems record when we enter and leave our homes; and all of these data are held by third parties. Information on our browsing habits is available to both the employer and the ISP. If an employee buys an airline ticket through an online travel service, such as Travelocity or Expedia, the information concerning that transaction will be available to the employer, the ISP, the travel service, the airline, and the provider of the payment mechanism, at a minimum.

All indications are that this is just the beginning. Broadband Internet access into homes has not only increased the personal activities we now engage in online but also created new and successful markets for remote computer backup and online photo, e-mail, and music storage services. With Voice over Internet Protocol (IP) telephone service, digital phone calls are becoming indistinguishable from digital documents: Both can be stored and accessed remotely. Global positioning technologies are appearing in more and more products, and Radio Frequency Identification Tags are beginning to be used to identify high-end consumer goods, pets, and even people.

Many individuals are unaware of the extent of the personal data stored, analyzed, and used by government institutions, private corporations, and research labs. Usually, it is only when things go wrong that individuals exercise their rights to obtain these data and seek to eliminate or correct it. For many of those whose records are accessed through data mining, we do not know it is happening, and may never find out because nothing incriminating is signaled. But we still know that data mining allows companies to accumulate and analyze vast amounts of information about us, sufficient perhaps to create, with the help of data mining, what some have called personality or psychological “mosaics” of the subjects. One result of the entry into the information age is that faceless bureaucrats (in a company, in government, everywhere) will be able to compile dossiers on anyone and everyone, for any reason or for no reason at all. The possibility, even if slim, that this information could somehow be used to our detriment or simply revealed to others can create a chilling effect on all these activities.

Data and the information derived from those data using data mining are an extremely valuable resource for any organization. Every data-mining professional is aware of this, but few are concentrated on the impact that data mining could have on privacy and the laws surrounding the privacy of personal data. Recent survey showed that data-mining professionals “prefer to focus on the advantages of Web-data mining instead of discussing the possible dangers.” These professionals argued that Web-data mining does not threaten privacy. One might wonder why professionals are not aware of or concerned over the possible misuse of their work, and the possible harm it might cause to individuals and society. Part of the reason some professionals are not concerned about the possible misuse of their work and the potential harm it might cause might lie in the explanation that “they are primarily technical professionals, and somebody else should take care of these social and legal aspects.” But sensible regulations of data mining depend on the understanding of its many variants and its potential harms. Therefore, technical professionals have to be a part of the team, often leading, which will try to solve privacy challenges.

The key ethical issues in mining personal data are that people are generally:

1. not aware