1486 Labs Notes Edition 3

Welcome back to the 1486 Labs Newsletter!

In this edition, read about Vianne Chang , one of our incredible interns; get a sneak peak at Blue Street Data's newest products; and gain insider access to expert content inside our community. Learn about the current data space through an exclusive interview with our Executive Director Andy Hannah and a bite-sized recap of recent data legislation developments. Happy reading!

Senior Spotlight: Vianne Chang

Meet Vianne Chang, a senior at the University of Pittsburgh studying Marketing & Business Information Systems with Certificates in Digital Media & Business Analytics. Vianne serves as Performance Marketing Manager at 1486 Labs, channeling her expertise towards leveraging analytics to drive marketing strategies.

To close out Q1, Vianne is building dashboards using MarTech platforms to extract insights from our historical data that will help guide marketing campaigns and sales efforts in Q2!

Hear exclusive insights from thought leader Malcolm Hawker, Chief Data Officer at Profisee

Data providers can withhold information from buyers, robbing you of the best data pricing and quality. Industry expert Malcolm Hawker answers the essential question: What are data providers keeping from you? Join the discussion now

Learn about Responsible Data Science from Andy Hannah, Executive Director at 1486 Labs

Question: "You've focused on three pillars for Responsible Data Science - could you explain what those are?"

1) Purpose?

“When discussing purpose, it's imperative to recognize the underlying motivations behind our use of data science tools and AI. We must examine whether these technologies are being employed to address societal challenges or to solve company/organization problems or opportunities. Understanding the purpose behind our actions will steer our data-driven initiatives towards meaningful contributions to society or organizational objectives.”?

2) Ethics?

“The second pillar pertains to the necessity of upholding ethical standards in our endeavors. It's essential to conduct our work with integrity, refraining from the utilization of data in manners that may breach ethical norms. This entails thoughtful consideration of the motives driving data usage and a conscientious approach to maintaining ethical boundaries within our data science practices and the deployment of our analytics/AI-driven initiatives.”?

3) Fairness?

The third pillar revolves around mitigating negative biases in our data analytics practices. We must strive to use data, analytics and AI in a manner that does not disadvantage any segment of the population. This area is currently receiving significant attention, prompting the need for proactive measures. To prevent unfair treatment, we need to vigilantly audit our practices and promote diversity in the evaluation process to detect and address any biases favoring or disadvantaging specific population segments.”?

Question: "How should we be thinking about data quality differently?"

When considering use cases and analytics as problem-solving products, the process mirrors manufacturing, with data feeding into algorithms to produce specific applications like fraud detection. Quality metrics such as completeness, consistency, and timeliness are essential but need tailoring to specific problems. Similar to top manufacturing companies, adhering to ISO certifications ensures high-quality production processes in analytics creation. Transparency, adherence to industry standards, ethical data sources, company stability, and expert opinions on data quality and usefulness collectively determine a company's ability to produce high-quality data products.

AT&T Confirms Data Breach Affecting 73 Million Current and Former Customers

The leaked information, which may include Social Security numbers, email addresses, phone numbers, and dates of birth, was found for sale on the dark web.

AT&T is currently investigating the source of the data breach, which was first identified in 2021. While the investigation is ongoing, it's unclear whether the data was compromised from AT&T's systems or a vendor they utilize.

Approximately 73 million individuals were potentially affected, with the majority being former AT&T customers from 2019 or earlier. As a precautionary measure, AT&T has reset passcodes for roughly 7.6 million current customers to safeguard their accounts.

AT&T is committed to assisting impacted individuals. The company is offering complimentary credit monitoring, identity theft protection services and proactively contacting those whose information appears in the data set.

This incident highlights the importance of cybersecurity measures. AT&T is taking steps to strengthen their defenses and prevent similar occurrences in the future.

To keep your personal information safe in a data breach, set up identity monitoring, change your password, enable two-factor authentication, be aware of fake vendors and avoid "urgent" emails - they're likely fake.

• Learn how to keep your information safe with Blue Street Data's Data Regulation Roadmap