It can take a great deal of effort to make the national press interested in technology.

Million-pound system implementations that are bread and butter for a specialist magazine such as Computing are unlikely to be big news for the wider media.

Sometimes, however, organisational processes help push the role of technology. But such promotion is not necessarily a reflection of industry best practice.

Research from the BCS, for example, says UK citizens have expressed an “alarming loss of trust” in the institutions that are expected to safeguard their personal data.

The results are not surprising -­ stories of CD-ROMs filled with personal data lost in the post are hardly likely to inspire confidence.

A cascade of similar stories means the media has honed in on data collection, with the word “database” fast becoming a catchword for potential security threats.

“Fury over kids DNA database,” yelled the Daily Mirror recently, in response to a recent call for a debate on the measures required to identify future offenders from the Association of Chief Police Officers’ Gary Pugh.

Such headlines form part of a broad media trend: want to spike citizen fears over technology bad practice? Mention a database or two and watch public indignation rise.

The result is an increased awareness from the proverbial man on the street about information practice and malpractice, with the BCS suggesting 90 per cent of adults are now aware of the Data Protection Act (DPA).

I guess people are aware of the principles of the DPA, rather than the fine details of the act -­ which Dino Wilkinson illustrates in this week’s Computing is a complex regulation.

But the result is the same: increased fear and loathing about the way public and private sector organisations collect, store and use personal information.

Yet technology can provide a helpful hand, rather than be a hindrance. Good IT management can ensure information is protected.

Manchester Airport’s project to use biometric technology, for example, helps restrict staff access and shows how information collection can provide best practice.

Such projects highlight how it is time to accentuate the positives of the database, rather than hate the connotations of a catchword.

What do you think? Read Mark Samuels’ blog at:
http://knowledge.computing.co.uk