DSIT launches Call for Evidence on Data Brokers and National Security

The UK government recognises that data is one of the UK’s most valuable assets and has the potential to drive economic growth and innovation.

Whilst data plays an increasingly important role in the lives of UK citizens and the sharing of data can reap positive outcomes, it’s essential that the government facilitates access to data in a safe and responsible way that ensures security of data and builds public trust in how it is used. As part of this, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) leads across government on data-related policy issues including ensuring that new and existing technologies are safely developed and deployed across the UK. The benefits of this should be widely shared, kickstarting economic growth that is underpinned by secure digital activity.

This call for views concerns the activities involved in facilitating access to UK data (including data on UK persons, businesses, infrastructure etc.) This is via data brokerage, where pre-packaged or bespoke datasets can be obtained at speed and scale. For the purpose of this call for views, organisations undertaking such activities are referred to as data brokers (also known as information brokers or data providers).

Whilst these organisations can support the benefits of data sharing, the government recognises the potential for hostile actors, such as cyber criminals, to acquire UK data on the open market. Hostile actors could exploit this opportunity and data brokers themselves, tainting an otherwise important market, to access large amounts of UK data. This data could include potentially sensitive information a hostile actor may use for malign purposes, resulting in potential national security harms, as set out in part 2 of this call for views.

The UK government is seeking views to understand more about organisations that take part in data broking and the wider industry. In particular, the government would like to understand the operations, security practices and customers of data brokers, to support policy development.

The Call for Evidence:

Part 1 explores the definition and services of data brokers

Part 2 explores national security risks associated with the data broker industry

Part 3 explores the effectiveness of data brokers’ security and governance frameworks

Part 4 asks data brokers for a breakdown of their customer base and explores consumer awareness of data brokers

Further details on the content of the consultation can be found here.

Whilst we encourage techUK members to submit individual responses to the Call for Evidence, techUK will be responding to the consulation on behalf of its members. More details on a roundtable to gather member views will be shared soon.

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DSIT launches Call for Evidence on Data Brokers and National Security

The Call for Evidence: