Newsletter No. 467

467 • 19.11.2015 7 個人數據的角力場 Personal Data Tug-of-war 多年前聽過一位銀行資訊部總裁在講座裏這樣對 聽眾說：「各位所光顧的銀行，或許比你們更了解 你們自己。比如說，銀行會知道你剛購入一輛新 車，從而在你使用自動櫃員機時向你提供汽車保 險的選擇；又例如你有一筆定期存款即將到期， 銀行也能得知並及時主動向你提供回報最佳的 投資建議。但我們沒有這樣做，因為害怕你們知 道我們原來知道得那麼多。」他說這番話時神色自 若，聽眾卻聽得不寒而慄。 今天，隨着大數據採集技術和分析方法的優化，企業對 我們知道得更多，而當中涉及因不當處理個人數據帶來的問 題，更是時有所聞。但我們不要以為所有服務對象、消費者 以至公眾都抗拒數據採集和分析。事實上，不少人接受某程 度的妥協。外國有些案例，顯示在罪案率高的地區，人們寧 願放棄自己的私隱而生活在保安部門的攝像機鏡頭下。縱 使世界不少地方都有就個人資料立法，但私隱的保障仍然 是政府、企業和公眾之間一場無休止的角力。 對經常需要搜集研究數據的機構（包括大學）而言，公開、透 明和主動的數據處理政策非常重要，即主動向收集對象說 明被收集的是甚麼數據、收集的目的、數據如何被儲存、何 時將被銷毀等。盡可能不去收集任何個人資料；在無可避免 的情况下，把能辨別身分的個人資料與研究數據完全分隔 儲存（例如把前者以加密形式離線儲存，令數據一旦遺失或 被黑客盜取的損害減到最低），只在最後階段才把兩者整合 處理，並在製作列表後即時删除。一套專業的個人私隱保障 政策，是高水平科研項目不可或缺的。 Years ago a president of the information department of a bank spoke to an audience, ‘Do you know your banks might know more about yourselves than you? For example, knowing you have bought a new car, the bank would, at your next visit to the ATM, offer choices of car insurance. Another example: when your fixed deposit is about to mature, the bank would know and come up with the best investment proposal under the circumstances. But we didn’t do it, for fear that you realize how much we know.’ His words were spoken matter-of-factedly, but they sent a chill down the aisles of the audience. Today the businesses know even more about us, with the advancement in data collection technology and analytics. Improper use or handling of personal data is often in the news. But not every consumer or member of the public has qualms about data collection and analytics. Many are willing to compromise. In cities with high crime rates, people may want to exchange their privacy for a safer environment to live in under security camera lenses. Even if many jurisdictions in the world have passed laws on personal data, the privacy tug-of-war between the government, the business and the populace is an everyday reality. An open and proactive data policy is critical to any institute (including a university) that regularly collects a large amount of research data. It is important to inform the data subjects what data are collected, the purpose of collection, how the data are to be stored, and when the data will be destroyed. Collection of personal data should be avoided whenever practicable. When it is impracticable to do so, efforts should be made to separate the data that can identify an individual from the research data. The former should be encrypted and stored off- line, so that minimum damage is caused in the event of inadvertent leak or hacker’s attack. Only at the final stages of the research should the two sets of data be processed together. After tally and tabulation have been made, the personal data should be promptly destroyed. In the era of Big Data, a comprehensive privacy policy is indispensable to the success of cutting-edge research. 梁光漢 Philip Leung 心事 Heart Conditions 美國疾病控制及預防中心近期有份報告指出，四個美國人 中，就有三個的心臟年齡比實際年齡老。這項統計亦存在性 別與種族的差異：男性的心臟年齡普遍比女性老，而黑人又 比白人的老。 計算心臟年齡的指標，包括 BMI，亦會考慮個人糖尿病或高 血壓的病歷。美國的 Framingham Heart Study 計劃提供了 一個簡單的心臟年齡預測法： www.f r aminghamhear t study.org /r isk- f unct ions / cardiovascular-disease/general-cvd-risk-prediction- using-bmi.php 人心神秘莫測，雖然心臟的運作不難理解，但它處於甚麼狀 態卻難以評估。一個外表看來健康無恙的人，可以因為心臟 衰竭而瞬間暴斃，心臟可以在完全沒有預警的情況下威脅一 個人的健康，甚至奪去性命。 心室的不規則律動，可能會導致心臟顫抖或心跳停頓。自 動體外心臟去纖維性顫動器（去顫器）利用電流刺激心臟， 使心臟回復正常，如果在心跳驟停後數分鐘的黃金時間內 進行電擊去顫，再加以心肺復蘇技巧，則寶貴的生命或可 救回。 中大是本地第一所在校園多處地點設置去顫器的院校。健 康促進及防護委員會、大學保健處及其他單位，不時為師生 職員舉辦使用去顫器及心肺復蘇法的訓練，致力令一旦出 現緊急狀況時大家都有所準備。 為《時代》執筆寫封面故事比任何其他作者都多的 Lance Morrow ，第一次心臟病發時只有三十六歲，第二次病發時五 十三歲。他的書 Heart: A Memoir 便是因身懷這枚計時炸彈 而想到有關生死與道德的問題。書中結尾，他簡潔地指出人 心的奧秘，以及一般人對它的誤解:「心臟甚至不是心型的。」 The heart is inscrutable. While what it does is relatively easy to understand, its condition often eludes the person whose life depends on its proper functioning. Seemingly healthy individuals sometimes drop dead on the ground, failed and deserted by their hearts. The heart launches attacks without firing so much as a warning shot. Heart failure can be caused by irregular rhythm in the ventricular chambers (ventricular fibrillations). An AED (automated external defibrillator) device sends an electric current to the heart to stop fibrillations and restore its natural rhythm. Coupled with CPR (cardio pulmonary resuscitation) technique administered within minutes of a sudden cardio arrest, a new lease of life may be given. CUHK is the first local higher learning institution that installs portable AEDs at its various locations and facilities. The Committee of Health Promotion and Protection, the University Health Service and other units have offered AED and CPR training for staff and students to make our campus less hospitable to the Grim Reaper. Lance Morrow , who wrote more Time cover stories than any other writer, had his first heart attack at the age of 36, then a second at 53. He recounts those experiences in Heart: A Memoir (1995) in the context of contemplating larger questions of mortality and morality. But by the end of the book, he admits to the heart’s inscrutability epigrammatically: ‘The heart is not even heart-shaped.’ 字裏高科 Tech Talks 寶健保健 Wealth In Health In a recent report, the US Centers for Disease Control and Protection (CDC) estimates that three out of four Americans have heart age that’s older than their real age. There are demographical differences, however: men generally have older heart age than women, and blacks’ heart age is older than whites’. In calculating the age of a person’s heart, much weight is given to metrics like the BMI and whether the person has a history of diabetes and/or hypertension. The Framingham Heart Study project offers a simple predictor of heart age at: www. f r ami ng hamhe a r t s t udy. o r g /r i s k- f unc t i on s / cardiovascular-disease/general-cvd-risk-prediction-using- bmi.php .