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Big Data: the new model

Big Data - Abstract image

The Regional Law 7/2019 provides that the Emilia-Romagna Region, for the management of the production of data in its possession, issues specific measures in compliance with the necessary protection of the public interest it pursues. This means that it is not possible a priori to make the Region's data available to third parties, but that a special investigation must be carried out for each single set of data.

Lepida has developed a model providing for the algorithm to reach the data, instead of having the data reach the algorithm. This paradigm allows a different vision on privacy, keeping all the data within the Lepida domain, without ever letting them leave the domain, but also providing the possibility that the algorithm, entering the domain, can benefit from all the data it needs, exporting, after processing, only and exclusively outputs that never directly involve data that are not properly processed, with elaborations leading to complete anonymisation. The scheme - which can be reached from this link on the Lepida website - provides for the presence of any applicant without any discrimination and applies to every possible thematic area. The aims are to prevent, identify, resolve and monitor, as well as study and scientific research, programming and verification of quality and services. The proposing party can only access the results of the processing, never the data. Therefore, no data managed can be processed outside the Lepida domain, if not already for other reasons.

The proposing party must submit a project that must include very explicitly the information related to the processing, the processing plan, the purposes, the type of data needed, the description of the algorithm type and everything that may be useful. The elaborations are analyzed to define the authorization, both from the point of view of anonymisation and from an ethical point of view, in relation to the outcome and in compliance with the public interest. The data processing takes place exclusively within the Lepida domain, with algorithms made available to the applicant. The elaborations are the property of the proposing party, but in full availability also to the data holder, for every possible institutional purpose. In the elaborations, the data of the proposing party, necessary to carry out the processing, are inserted within the Lepida domain for the time necessary for the elaborations. If any feedback  is not anonymous for some reason, it can be managed only and exclusively within the Lepida domain and will remain at the complete disposal of the public subjects holding the data. With regard to the calculation and storage capacity within the Lepida domain, this must find economic coverage by the proposing party in Cloud mode, also considering the fact that Lepida is present on the Public Administration marketplace as a Cloud Service Provider. The calculation capacity can be increased by Lepida using third parties, while maintaining control of the domain. The conditions for temporarily enlarging the domain are the analysis of the temporary enlargement plan and of the mechanisms for the separation and definition of boundaries of the domain, so that it becomes an integral part of the Lepida domain with the security features that are typical of it. Lepida carries out the preliminary investigation that it presents to the data holder, to obtain the authorisation to proceed on the basis of this model.

The first four requests on data from the Emilia-Romagna Region have already been received, and work is being carried out on this model and its deriving results.

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