I have been highly impressed with the growth of the SQL Saturday phenomenon. It seems that an announcement for a new wonderful event finds its way to my inbox on a daily basis. I have had the opportunity to attend the first of the SQL Saturday's for Tampa, Chicago, Louisville and recently my home town of Indianapolis. It is my hope that there will be many more in my future. This past weekend I had the honor of being selected to speak amid a great line up of speakers at SQL Saturday #82 in Indianapolis. My session topic/title was "Exploring Data Privacy".

Below is a brief synopsis of my session:

Data Privacy in a Nutshell
       - Definition of data privacy
       - Examples of personally identifiable data
       - Examples of Sensitive data

Laws and Stuff
       - Various examples of laws, regulations and policies that influence the definition of data privacy
       - General rules of thumb that encompasses most laws

Your Data Footprint
       - Who has personal information about you?
       - What are you exchanging data privacy for?
       - The amazing resilience of data
       - The cost of data loss

Weapons of Mass Protection
      - Data classification
      - Extended properties
      - Database Object Schemas
      - An extraordinarily brief introduction of encryption
      - The amazing data professional  <-the most important point of the entire session!

The subject of data privacy is one that is quickly making its way to the forefront of the mind of many data professionals. Somewhere out there someone is storing personally identifiable and other sensitive data about you. In some cases it is kept reasonably secure. In other cases it is kept in total exposure without the consideration of its potential of damage to you. Who has access to it and how is it being used? Are we being unnecessarily required to supply sensitive data in exchange for products and services? These are just a few questions on everyone's mind. As data loss events of grand scale hit the headlines in a more frequent succession, the level of frustration and urgency for a solution increases.

I assembled this session with the intent to raise awareness of sensitive data and remind us all that we, data professionals, are the ones who have the greatest impact and influence on how sensitive data is regarded and protected. Mahatma Gandhi once said "Be the change you want to see in the world." This is guidance that I keep near to my heart as I approached this topic of data privacy.