Digital Footprint

Apr 1, 2008 12:00 PM

A person's “digital footprint” reflects how he or she actively participates in the digital universe, including use of the Internet and social networks, e-mail, cell phones, digital cameras and credit cards.

Driven in part by the proliferation of digital cameras and video surveillance, the digital universe in 2007 was equal to almost 45 gigabytes (GB) of digital information for every person on earth.

Information infrastructure solutions provider EMC Corp. and research company IDC have investigated the various types of digital information created and copied in the world. “The Diverse and Exploding Digital Universe: An Updated Forecast of Worldwide Information Growth Through 2011” highlights updated growth projections expected to impact business and society based on new data and analysis. The data indicates an explosive growth of surveillance sales and highlights what it can mean for an organization.

John Gantz, chief research officer and senior vice president of IDC, says that the study discovered that only half of a person's digital footprint is related to his or her individual actions, and the other half accounts for the so-called “digital shadow.” “For the first time your digital shadow is larger than the digital information you actively create about yourself,” Gantz says.

The digital information generated about the average person on a daily basis is called a “digital shadow,” which can include names in financial records, names on mailing lists, Web surfing histories or images taken of a person by security cameras in airports or urban centers.

The IDC whitepaper says that enterprise IT organizations that gather the information comprising digital shadows have a responsibility - in many cases mandated by law - for the security, privacy protection, reliability and legal compliance of this information.

“Society is already feeling the early effects of the world's digital information explosion. Organizations need to plan for the limitless opportunities to use information in new ways and for the challenges of information governance,” says Joe Tucci, EMC chairman, president and CEO. “As people's digital footprints continue growing, so too will the responsibility of organizations for the privacy, protection, availability and reliability of that information. The burden is on IT departments within organizations to address the risks and compliance rules around information misuse, data leakage and safeguarding against security breaches.”

To calculate the size of your own digital footprint, download the Personal Digital Footprint Calculator at http://www.emc.com/digital_universe.

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© 2012 Penton Media Inc.

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