Identity Data

What Is Identity Data?

Identity data is the collection of data about an individual person, such as their name, address, bank account number, health records, and other highly sensitive information.

Where Does Identity Data Come From?

It is primarily governments and health care industries that collect identity data. However, it comes from companies, like banks, third-party payment processors, and clinic software programs. Additional sources include retail companies online or social media platforms that request an individual sign in to an account.

With the rise of smartphones and related devices and the tendency of people to use a small number of passwords for all their accounts, the onus is on companies collecting this data to keep it safe.

What Types of Columns/Attributes Should I Expect When Working with This Data?

Common  attributes include an individual’s name, national identity number, phone number, and address. Additional attributes are transaction history, medical history, bank account and bank balance, age, and place of birth.

What Is This Data Used For?

This data is used by governments and health care workers to identify a citizen or patient and provide the best, personalized service and care. Companies use this data with cross-device identity markers to be sure that the user of a device or account is the device or account owner.

Companies also save your identity information and preferences to provide personalized service and drafting marketing campaigns.

Finally, companies use the data to prevent fraud.

How Should I Test the Quality of Identity Data?

The best test of the quality of individual data is the update frequency and the consistency of the dataset. You can also collect some historical data to test against newer data or against the rate of conversions.

Identity data is one of the most important big data fields and the security concerns are paramount. And despite the fact that many companies devote a meager portion of their yearly budgets to identity management systems, the field is exploding and the solutions to fraud detection and customer lifetime value flourishing.

Interesting Case Studies and Blogs to Look Into

Experian: Connecting the Dots of Consumer Identity whitepaper
The Tech Question All Bank Execs Should Ask

Tangible Examples of Impact

Identity data demands the highest possible levels of security, but that’s not the only thing that makes protecting it different. In addition to enforcing corporate and regulatory policies that satisfy security mandates, administrators must also consider the customer’s perspective.

Solutions Review: 3 Reasons Identity Data is Driving a New Normal for Data Security