The issue of Data making headlines at Davos The World Economic Forum

As world leaders, top economists, politicians and C.E.Os of some of the major organizations in the world gathered in Davos Switzerland for the World Economic Forum, no one expected the issue about data to get any attention. With the kind of predicament many EU countries like Greece, Portugal  and Italy find themselves in which urgently require a bail-out package hence threatening the future of the Eurozone, one would expect that the in-tray was full already. That was not the case. World leaders present at the summit seem to appreciate the connection between data and economic development. While this doesn't come as news to some of the major private companies whose engine is data, many governments are yet to maximize on the amazing power of data and the information therein. On the contrary, many have made it their business to control the access, sharing and transfer of data between different users through bureaucracies and prohibitive policies thus stifling development unwittingly. But this seems to have changed.  With the evolution of the social media, many players and investors have come forth to offer very competitive products free of charge allowing users to interact and share whatever it is they want with friends, family members and even strangers. Networking sites like Facebook and Twitter are faced with a challenge of a deluge of data streaming in near real time from different corners of the world pushing their server capacities in unprecedented way.
Some people have argued that companies like Facebook are in custody of very personal information about their clients than even their respective governments do. Whenever one wants to use any of their products and services, they are required to furnish them with personal information. On top of that, these internet companies have developed algorithms that match the user's behavior on the internet with their profiles. This information has helped them customize adverts based on the users interactions, the web pages they visit most and how long they stay there.
Due to the improvements in internet access especially in areas that traditionally lacked or had very little presence in the world wide web, there has been a significant increase in data both textual(html), video, audio(podcast) and pictorial as folks take advantage of the myriad of platforms offering these services for free to share their lives and experiences with the entire world.
According to a report released by the World Economic Forum titled "Big Data, Big Impact: New possibilities for International Development", 'researchers and policy makers are beginning to realise the potential for channeling these torrents of data into actionable information that can be used to identify needs, provide services, and predict and prevent crises for the benefit of low-income populations'.
The successes in the mobile money transfer industry has been hailed as a perfect example of how valuable data really is. The penetration of cheaper phones  has seen many people especially in the developing world  able to afford smart phones  fitted with cameras, GPS and internet enabled, meaning that people can exchange information on the go. These data according to the report , if well managed and shared between different players and consumers of the data, has the power to transform the lives of people.
From disaster preparedness and prevention, disease monitoring , projections on the levels of poverty and consumer analysis etc the insights obtained from these data is amazing.
Several issues however have emerged regarding privacy of data, security of individuals generating this data and misuse is one such concern. For instance, is one able to 'opt-out' of the world wide web once they have created an online  presence. While most companies in custody of these data including credit card numbers, bank account and other personal data require these users to sign or approve their privacy policy before using their products and services, most people have been signing their privacy rights away since they were tired of reading the fine print normally written in legal jargon.
Despite the assurances made by companies, evidence still shows that there are loopholes that need to be sealed. Cases of hackers breaching the security apparatus of some of the major companies have been reported widely;  For instance, hackers broke the security of the Sony play station revealing their credit card information and other personal details of their customers thus putting them in great danger. A group claiming to be Saudis also hacked into Israeli's Tel Aviv stock exchange and the national airline. There was also online disruptions to several banks. While the latter case could be seen as a political issue, it still doesn't negate the fact that the concept of absolute security doesn't exist in the cyber world.
With the introduction of cloud computing, risks are expected to grow as more data will be lying out there in the cloud thus increasing the vulnerabilities. This therefore calls for capacity building especially among institutions in the developing world to prepare them for this eventuality. Since many governments are opening up thanks to the development and evolution of the IT sector, there ought to be deliberate incentives to train specialists who'll counter cyber warfare by preempting attacks with sophisticated firewalls.
Otherwise if people fear that their private information is likely to leak out there then chances are that they will be reluctant to supply any information at all. This also goes for governments that feel they are inadequate to counter any challenges brought  by the growth of the internet industry.