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Virginia launches opioids data platform
The opioid crisis – which hasn’t seemed to get any better – needs a significant amount of help. The state of Virginia has given data and analytics group Qlarion the go-ahead to create a data platform that will help monitor data like health records, deaths and subscription information.
THE TAKEAWAY:
“The platform, which will attempt to arm state personnel with information to reduce that figure, will focus on identifying specific regions and populations that are at risk, Bittner said. The northern Shenandoah Valley will be the first region to use the platform.”
Australian banks turn data up a notch
Australia is, in many ways, leading the front of open data and consumer data rights. But here’s something new: a government investigation into the banks looks set to recommend that major banks make lending decisions based on specific transaction data. The short of it? Spending on data and analytics is about to shoot way, way up.
THE TAKEAWAY:
“It is understood several major banks are in discussions about supplementing these policies with their own data-sharing scheme for transaction accounts. If this gets the green light, it could mean new loan customers are asked to provide credentials for their existing banks, to allow the new bank to go in and look at their spending and income.”
Governments need to step it up
Governments have a huge opportunity to solve massive problems with data, but they aren’t doing a great job of convincing everyone of that. That’s according to Danny Gilligan, Data Republic Co-Founder and Reinventure CEO.
Alongside a range of arguments – including that GDPR will stifle innovation – is that governments need to make a much more direct plea that data can do more. Australia might be a good example, he says.
THE TAKEAWAY:
“Mr Gilligan framed a larger argument advocating for a stronger role for data in informing government policy decisions, particularly social reform. He said that “data is the single biggest lever for micro-economic and social reform available in the next two decades.”
Facebook hack isn’t just about Facebook
Another week, another hack. At least, it feels like. This one is particularly bad – it isn’t just Facebook accounts that were attacked. Sites that use Facebook logins like Airbnb were compromised. The worst part? No one seems to know just how massive this attack really is.
THE TAKEAWAY:
“In a conference call with reporters on Friday, Facebook said it had not assessed the scope of the breach, nor did the company discover who was responsible for the attack.”
Blockchain won’t save everything
Well, duh. But Forbes brings up a great point: proponents claim blockchain technology is tough to crack, but the advent of quantum computing might make the uncrackable…well, crackable.
THE TAKEAWAY:
“Just as asymmetric encryption uses difficult math problems to stump classical computers, quantum-resistant algorithms will use still more difficult math problems to stump a quantum computer.”
European logistics gets a data boost
Logistics is probably one of the best targets for improvement with data. And that’s exactly what some European nations are doing with Aeolix. The platform is trying to fix the current situation of disparate platforms – suppliers have to go searching for relevant data. Now, it’s all in one place. The result? Less waste, more efficient transport.
THE TAKEAWAY:
“The Aeolix pan-European network automatically translates data formats from different IT systems, giving companies the ability to rapidly respond to issues through a customised dashboard. Aeolix is developed for the private logistics industry as well as for public authorities.”
That’s our wrap for this week. Thanks for reading – we hope you found it entertaining and informational. We’d love to hear your thoughts on these articles and anything else data related! Email us anytime at enquiries@datarepublic.com!
Until next week,
Team Data Republic