Running Head: OPEN DATA 1
OPEN DATA 2
Title: Open Data
Student’s Name:
Professor’s Name:
Date
Introduction.
Open data refers to information that is available to the public for use. Open data can be distributed and be reused by everybody. The sharing of open data involves different stakeholders such as citizens. The users of open data access the information from the websites or the data center services. Sharing and the use of open data are regulated by open data standards. The standards give specifications on how to publicize open data as well as the procedures and policies. Generally, open data is an idea that makes information available freely to anybody who wishes to use or even republish the data without being restricted by the patents, control mechanisms or even the copyright. This paper expounds more on the open data, discussing the policy and procedures revolving around the open data as well as the benefits of open data.
Federal agencies are responsible for making data available for public use. The agencies are also legally obliged to ascertain the confidentiality of private data. The confidentiality of the organization and the individuals from which the information was gathered should be guaranteed by the federal agencies. (Bolívar, Bwalya, & Reddick, 2019) Federal agencies are thus responsible for ensuring data availability as well as confidentiality. Various legislations are key to guiding the activities of the federal agencies. In 1974, the Privacy Act was established which recognized the privacy rights of individuals and also the government obligation of protecting information gathered from the citizens. In 1988 the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act was established. The act was an updated version of the privacy act which laid more emphasis on the matching and sharing of data by the agencies (Davies, Walker, & Rubinstein, 2019). The act requires the federal agencies to give notice to the individuals providing the information on the use or the purpose of collecting the information. The acts also require federal agencies to approve and publish the matching activities and agreements with the agencies. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability is another act that was established in 1996 which regulates the open data activities. HIPAA regulates data that relates to providers of health care, clearinghouses as well as the health plans.
In 2002 Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act were established. The act restricts the federal agencies from using statistical data for other purposes. The agencies are required to make a distinction between non-statistical and statistical data. The act further requires the agencies to notify the parties concerned at the start of the data collection process. It further requires the agencies to get the consent of the individual providing the statistical data in the case that the data being collected is identifiable. Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinic Health Act is another act that governs the publication and the use of open data. HITECH was established to strengthen the protection, security and privacy policies in HIPAA (Bolívar, Bwalya, & Reddick, 2019). The act demands that the entities which are covered under HIPPA should inform the individual on any breach of the policies. Other policies and regulations that inform the use of open data include Family Education Act. Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) and Privacy Right and Open Data Policy amongst others.
A separate section in which you discuss the value (benefits) of Open Data. This section should provide several specific examples of how government provided Open Data is being used by businesses and the general public.
The open data initiative that was signed by President Barack Obama benefited many businesses and also strengthened the economy of the United State. Government data that was provided to the entrepreneurs benefited not only the commercial organizations but also the not for profit operations. Open data has enhanced economic growth by making it easier for the entrepreneurs to access information, knowledge and also content thus encouraging development, innovation as well as creativity in business. For instance, companies can use the open data available to track consumer energy consumptions based on the patterns for household consumption.
The provision of open data has also enhanced performance. The efficiencies, as well as the performance of public services, have improved. For instance, the sharing of data across various sectors has provided an overview of any spending that was not necessary. Additionally, non-profit organizations can provide information on performance from preschools to colleges using information from the state as well as other sources which have made it easier to make educated choices. Health sector spending’s can also be tracked enhancing the management of the medical bills.
Open data has also benefited the social welfare of society. More accessible and transparent information provides society with a lot of social benefits. For instance, social innovation, collaborations, and participations have been enhanced (Hawken, Han, & Pettit, 2019). Additional, a company can use the available data to inform the consumer on the environmental, social as well as the health effects of consuming a certain product.
The provision of open data enhances the storage and preservation of information over a given period. Storage of information in an easily accessible and centralized form makes it ideal for both historical and current use. The information remains in the form required and at the place ideal for easier access, therefore, making it possible to use the data for reference. It, therefore, becomes possible to observe and also compare the trends over time.
Other benefits of open data provided by the government include the increase of accountability and transparency as the public is informed and updated with the daily operations of the government, enhancement of community engagement and public education, promotion of innovations and progress and also building of reputation, credibility, and trust. Open data has therefore benefited various sectors such as economic, health and the public sector. The efforts by the government to avail data have made it easier for individuals to access, use, and also share the available data.
Address security issues (confidentiality, integrity, availability, authenticity, and non-repudiation) which can impact the availability and usefulness of Open Data. Discuss how these issues are currently being addressed by the federal government. Provide examples of issues and mitigations or solutions.
Agencies have been required by the data protection laws to protect data confidentiality during the gathering but ensure there is maximum utility. Confidentiality in open data means that the publishers of the data should not disclose the data sources for security reasons. The publishers are required to maintain a high level of data confidentiality. This will ensure that entities or individual re-identification are not possible (Bolívar, Bwalya, & Reddick, 2019) The approaches put in place to guarantee data confidentiality includes restricting the collection of information that is identifiable, removal of explicit identifiers, restricted access as well as licensing.
The government should ensure that the integrity of the data being published is not compromised. Data integrity is achieved by ensuring that data of good quality is published. Federal agencies have addressed the issue of data integrity by conducting regular reviews on the data, correcting errors from the open data and also the incorporation of feedback from the public regarding the data quality. However, maintaining the integrity of open data has not been effective due to the requirement to make data available to the public as possible thus making it difficult for the federal agencies to trace the data and ensure integrity after being shared from their site. he Security Standards for the Protection of Electronic PHI) have been established to ensure data security and integrity while ensuring free access.
Authentication can be described as a process of verifying the authenticity of data and ensuring that data has not been altered. This is the credibility and the quality of open data inclusive of the legitimacy, trustworthiness, credibility, and genuineness. The government has employed various technological types to authenticate the data they publicize. To address the issue of authenticity the government has employed measures such as cryptography, authenticity files, digital certification and digital signatures. The technologies ensure the data integrity is at its most and that the users have the most reliable information.
Government agencies are required to proactively share information at their different levels to increase data availability. The data have been availed in various portals and websites where the public can access it. The information is available in a convenient and also modifiable way. Government agencies have been obliged to ensure that open data is accurate and reliable. This is achieved through maintenance of the hardware, hardware repairs and ensuring constant updating of the data sites.
Recommendation
Open data should restrict access to confidential information, guarantee the provision of accurate and trustworthy information and also give reliable access to the public. Data management is critical for both open and private data. It is therefore important to increase the awareness of the cybersecurity threat among the Federal agencies. Increase awareness will be achieved by implementing a framework for cybersecurity threats to prioritize the efforts to manage the risks of cybersecurity. Additionally, the government should also standardize the information technology as well as the capabilities of cybersecurity about cost control and enhancement of asset management (Bolívar, Bwalya, & Reddick, 2019). The federal agencies should also be consolidated to enhance incident detection as well as the capabilities to offer a response to the threats. In addition to this, accountability should be enhanced across all the agencies by improving the process of governance, assessment of the recurring risks and also engagements with the OMB and other leading agencies. It is important to put in place security, ensures to manage risks relating to open data. Proper implementation of the procedures, policies, as well as the tools for cybersecurity, will help in managing the security risks.
Summary
To effectively enhance cybersecurity of the open data, the federal agencies should identify, prioritize and also manage all the cyber risks. The integrity, confidentiality, authenticity and the availability of the data are critical and the federal agencies should aim at giving the best. Open benefit has positively affected various sectors in the economy such as health, education, transport energy sand social sectors. Federal agencies should, therefore, carry out their responsibility effectively as well as adhere to the policies that manage data.
Retrieved from https://aspe.hhs.gov/system/files/pdf/77196/rpt_Disclosure.pdf
Retrieved from https://scholarship.richmond.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1954&context=law-faculty-publications
Retrieved from https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Cybersecurity-Risk-Determination-Report-FINAL_May-2018-Release.pdf
Bolívar, M. P., Bwalya, K. J., & Reddick, C. G. (2019). Governance models for creating public value in open data initiatives. Springer.
Davies, T., Walker, S., & Rubinstein, M. (2019). The state of open data: Histories and horizons. African Minds.
Hawken, S., Han, H., & Pettit, C. (2019). Open cities | Open data: Collaborative cities in the information era. Springer Nature.