An Overview Of Big Data And Data Protection In Nigeria

Introduction

Cambridge Dictionary defines data as "information, especially facts or numbers, collected to be examined and considered and used to help decision-making or information in an electronic form that can be stored and used by a computer¹". That definition helps us understand that data can cover a lot, ranging from employment records, criminal records, personal emails, bank records, health records, trade secrets and other vital information concerning individuals and corporations.

The world contains an unimaginably vast amount of digital information which is getting even vaster more rapidly. According to Forbes, we now produce 2.5 quintillion bytes of data every day. Indeed, 90% of all the data in the world has been created over the last two years. This huge availability of data is what the term 'Big Data' refers to.