Don’t confuse data protection with data literacy

There are many clichés all-around information, from referring to it as the new oil to the assertion that we are blind and deaf without it. But regardless of the buzzwords, these statements have an aspect of real truth to them: the contemporary planet generates and consumes extra information than at any other point in record, and being familiar with how to accumulate and use it is essential.

A panel of information experts – Simon Ratcliffe of Ensono, Suzy Gallier of wellbeing information investigation hub Pioneer, and Jane Offer of The Legislation Culture – came collectively to discuss the matter of information-readiness at Computing‘s IT Leaders Forum final thirty day period. All agreed that excellent and transparency of information are critical, but being familiar with information is even extra so.

A person of the very best strategies to advertise information literacy is via storytelling: a point all a few panellists agreed on. Offer explained she employed this in a previous job, at the Royal National Institute of Blind People today, to teach persons about information security.

“We chose a individual in fundraising who was a little bit of a dwell wire and a excellent storyteller to produce an report. Instead of ‘What you want to know about information protection’ he titled it ‘Are you the weakest url?’, wrote a story and designed it real for persons. People today ended up properly via the report in advance of they realised they ended up becoming talked to about information security.”

Ratcliffe also agreed, referring again to this remedy when handling an viewers dilemma about the GDPR:

“Info literacy isn’t really all about just becoming information, information, information… There needs to be a level of recognition in there. I am a big believer in the idea of storytelling, and if you you should not use the phrase information in a story which is even greater, simply because out of the blue persons are pondering about it in a context that helps make feeling to them.

“The challenge with information is it is develop into a headline, significantly like GDPR became a headline, and essentially the proper story lies underneath that. Somewhat like information security – and I feel information literacy is the identical – it is about not only being familiar with the relevance of information, but also being familiar with what is actually not significant in there. Not all information is equivalent… We want to find out to consider a pragmatic perspective of it.”

Gallier explained that storytelling had served Pioneer in a similar vogue.

“It is really about creating [information] contextual for the person, so there are distinctive tales and movies, and we have actors taking part in out scenes of a person asking for a certain piece of information in a medical setting, so it helps make persons see how these matters can easily happen if you are not pondering about it. As a medical center we consider that really very seriously.”

Nonetheless, there have to be a stability involving information security and information use. Preserving information, specially in a healthcare setting, is exceptionally significant, but you can not basically lock everything down and call it excellent. “I’ve occur across organisations the place almost nothing can go any where,” explained Ratcliffe. Gallier expanded on his point:

“The total point is that if we you should not get [information literacy] suitable and we you should not essentially help obtain and make that information discoverable, we are not likely to have the subsequent great deal of innovation we are not likely to have the subsequent transformation… Equally, it is normally about that stability: what are we essentially authorized to do, and what level of information are we able to give?”

To sum up: information literacy is totally critical, but so is information security. Use storytelling to understand equally, and you should not let a single stand in the way of the other.

All of the classes from the most up-to-date IT Leaders Forum, covering all factors of information readiness and use, are now out there to watch on-demand.