An increasing challenge today for using "test data" is that testing might not be limited to the main system under test, and the use of "test data" can have unfortunate consequences for other systems.
In the system under test, reconciliation processes may fail (e.g., address v. Post Code, name and email address).
Legislators do not seem to live in the real world, especially the pseudo-real world of modern day, highly interconnected IT with numerous tightly integrated referential databases, some of which can be provided by SaaS with little or no knowledge of the underlying processing, nor what might break it.
M
> On 8 Mar 2017, at 14:00, Simon Howarth <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> One word DON'T. Unless it is completely unavoidable in which case it is almost always possible to "scramble" or otherwise pseudonymise data so that it is not longer identifiable.
>
> It's OK to say "we only use it for testing" for you need to consider the DPA principles and what lawful basis you have for using the data in this way. Not only that, but just how good are your processes.
>
> I know of one well known accountancy package supplier which used live data for test. A salesman decided it wold be a good idea to use the test data for demonstrations (I don't think he understood it was real data). All went well for several months until a presentation was given to a room full of people and someone jumped up and shouted "those are my accounts!"
>
> You need to really think about using live for anything other than live situations. Never training, whether in-house or not and never testing unless you can fully demonstrate that testing would be inadequate if such data could not be used, and even then it should be deidentified as much as possible.
>
> Just don't.
>
> Simon Howarth.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: This list is for those interested in Data Protection issues [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Tara Davies
> Sent: 06 March 2017 07:58
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [data-protection] Training Database
>
> We have three versions of our student database.. Live, test and train
>
> We often copy live data to the test database but this is purely used internally for IT staff to test new systems and it is often impossible to do this on dummy data however test is never used anywhere apart from within IT
>
> We would not use live data for training which is a completely different scenario
>
> It is worth making the distinction between test and train
>
> Kind Regards
>
> Tara Davies
> Information Manager
> Brighton Hove and Sussex Sixth Form College
> 01273 859813
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: This list is for those interested in Data Protection issues [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Kate Glanville
> Sent: 03 March 2017 12:08
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: [data-protection] Training Database
>
> Hi all
>
> I've just found out that our IT section use a 'live to test' copy of one of our databases for training purposes. They train new users of the software using a test database which has been copied from the live database.
>
> Any thoughts on this? How do staff in your organisations train on software, does something similar happen?
>
> Kind Regards
>
> Kate
>
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