Patent Description:
In the past few years, general customer dissatisfaction, erosion of trust and privacy invasion are increasing. There is wide societal pressure toward privacy protection and a more responsible use of data. More than <NUM> countries have enforced privacy laws in response to citizens' cry for transparency and control. Privacy data protection regulations globally follow a trend of increasing maturity and detail, representing risks in both business and personal impact. Organizations worldwide struggle to adapt their privacy data protection programs at a suitable pace especially when compliance is the sole focus.

<CIT> describes a process that evaluates digital information obtained by an organization as part of a digital information stream from a user.

<CIT> describes a natural language system that receives user-input.

Preferred features are set out in the dependent claims.

This disclosure relates to methods and systems for governing user privacy data to comply with various data privacy regulations.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for governing user privacy data, comprising: detecting, with a processor circuitry, a dark data source in a data ecosystem, the data ecosystem comprising a plurality of data sources storing user privacy data, the dark data source representing at least one data source of the plurality of data sources in which it is unknown whether user privacy data is stored, the at least one data source comprising a plurality of datasets; identifying, with the processor circuitry, user information and relationship from the data ecosystem according to a lineage of datasets; scanning, with the processor circuitry, the dark data source by executing a natural language processing engine to identify existence of and content of user privacy data in the dark data source based on the user information and relationship; selecting, with the processor circuitry, a target user privacy data compliance policy from a plurality of user privacy data compliance policies based on a geographical region associated with the dark data source; detecting, with the processor circuitry, non-compliance in protecting the user privacy data in the dark data source based on the target user privacy data compliance policy; and in response to the non-compliance, processing, with the processor circuitry, the user privacy data to eliminate the non-compliance.

In some embodiments of the first aspect, the method further comprises: determining the geographical region associated with the dark data source based on a geographical location where the dark data source is physically stored or a geographical location where the dark data source is accessed.

In some embodiments of the first aspect, the non-compliance comprises a failure to backup user privacy data, the processing the user privacy data to eliminate the non-compliance comprises: identifying a dataset including the user privacy data from the dark data source; and generating a backup dataset for the dataset including the user privacy data.

In some embodiments of the first aspect, the non-compliance comprises a failure to encrypt or mask user privacy data, the processing the user privacy data to eliminate the non-compliance comprises: identifying a dataset including the user privacy data for the dark data source; and encrypting or masking the dataset including the user privacy data.

In some embodiments of the first aspect, the method further comprises: receiving an individual right request for a user privacy data; searching the dark data source to identify a plurality of datasets to which the individual right request is applicable; executing operation on the plurality of datasets according to the individual right request; and validating a completion of the individual right request.

In some embodiments of the first aspect, the method further comprises: determining a consent opt-out date for a user privacy data based on a consent opt-in request for the user privacy data, a consent opt-in granting an access to the user privacy data and a consent opt-out withdrawing an access grant to the user privacy data; and generating a consent opt-out request for the user privacy data based on the opt-out consent date.

In some embodiments of the first aspect, the method further comprises: receiving an operation request for a user privacy data from a request source; and in response to the request source being withdrawn access grant to the user privacy data, removing the user privacy data from a dataset to which the operation request is directed.

In some embodiments of the first aspect, detecting the dark data source in the data ecosystem comprises: scanning the data ecosystem according to a predetermined scan time interval to identify a newly added data source; and determining the newly added data source as the dark data source.

In some embodiments of the first aspect, the method further comprises generating a report on compliance and non-compliance in protecting the user privacy data in the dark data source.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a system for governing user privacy data, comprising: a memory having stored thereon executable instructions; a processor circuitry in communication with the memory, the processor circuitry when executing the instructions configured to: detect a dark data source in a data ecosystem, the data ecosystem comprising a plurality of data sources storing user privacy data, the dark data source representing at least one data source of the plurality of data sources in which it is unknown whether user privacy data is stored, the at least one data source comprising a plurality of datasets; identify user information and relationship from the data ecosystem according to a lineage of datasets; scan the dark data source by executing a natural language processing engine to identify existence of and content of user privacy data in the dark data source based on the user information and relationship; select a target user privacy data compliance policy from a plurality of user privacy data compliance policies based on a geographical region associated with the dark data source; detect non-compliance in protecting the user privacy data in the dark data source based on the target user privacy data compliance policy; and in response to the non-compliance, process the user privacy data to eliminate the non-compliance.

In some embodiments of the second aspect, the non-compliance comprises a failure to backup user privacy data, the processor circuitry when executing the instructions is configured to: identify a dataset including the user privacy data from the dark data source; and generate a backup dataset for the dataset including the user privacy data.

In some embodiments of the second aspect, the non-compliance comprises a failure to encrypt or mask user privacy data, the processor circuitry when executing the instructions is configured to: identify a dataset including the user privacy data for the dark data source; and encrypt or mask the dataset including the user privacy data.

In some embodiments of the second aspect, the processor circuitry when executing the instructions is further configured to: determine the geographical region associated with the dark data source based on a geographical location where the dark data source is physically located or a geographical location where the dark data source is accessed.

In some embodiments of the second aspect, the processor circuitry when executing the instructions is further configured to: receive an operation request for a user privacy data; search the dark data source to identify a plurality of datasets to which the operation request is applicable; execute operation on the plurality of datasets according to the operation request; and validate a completion of the operation request.

In some embodiments of the second aspect, the processor circuitry when executing the instructions is further configured to: determine a consent opt-out date for a user privacy data based on a consent opt-in request for the user privacy data, a consent opt-in granting an access to the user privacy data and a consent opt-out withdrawing an access grant to the user privacy data; and generate a consent opt-out request for the user privacy data based on the opt-out consent date.

In some embodiments of the second aspect, the processor circuitry when executing the instructions is further configured to: receive an operation request for a user privacy data from a request source; and in response to the request source being withdrawn access grant to the user privacy data, remove the user privacy data from a dataset to which the operation request is directed.

In some embodiments of the second aspect, the processor circuitry when executing the instructions is configured to: scan the data ecosystem according to a predetermined scan time interval to identify a newly added data source; and determine the newly added data source as the dark data source.

In some embodiments of the second aspect, the processor circuitry when executing the instructions is further configured to: generate reports on compliance and non-compliance in protecting the user privacy data in the dark data source.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a product including: machine-readable media other than a transitory signal; and instructions stored on the machine-readable media, the instructions configured to, when executed, cause a processor circuitry to: detect a dark data source in a data ecosystem, the data ecosystem comprising a plurality of data sources storing user privacy data, the dark data source representing a data source in which whether user privacy data is stored is unknown, a data source comprising a plurality of datasets; identify user information and relationship from the data ecosystem according to lineage of datasets; scan the dark data source by executing a natural language processing engine to identify user privacy data in the dark data source based on the user information and relationship; select a target user privacy data compliance policy from a plurality of user privacy data compliance policies based on a geographical region associated with the dark data source; detect non-compliance in protecting the user privacy data in the dark data source based on the target user privacy data compliance policy; and in response to the non-compliance, process the user privacy data to eliminate the non-compliance.

In some embodiments of the third aspect, the instructions are further configured to cause the processor circuitry to: determine the geographical region associated with the dark data source based on a geographical location where the dark data source is physically located or a geographical location where the dark data source is accessed.

In one embodiment, a method for governing user privacy data may include detecting, with a processor circuitry, a dark data source in a data ecosystem. The data ecosystem may include a plurality of data sources storing user privacy data. The dark data source may represent at least one data source of the plurality of data sources in which it is unknown whether user privacy data is stored. The at least one data source may include a plurality of datasets. The method may further include identifying, with the processor circuitry, user information and relationship from the data ecosystem according to a lineage of datasets. The method may further include scanning, with the processor circuitry, the dark data source by executing a natural language processing engine to identify existence of and content of user privacy data in the dark data source based on the user information and relationship. The method may further include selecting, with the processor circuitry, a target user privacy data compliance policy from a plurality of user privacy data compliance policies based on a geographical region associated with the dark data source and detecting, with the processor circuitry, non-compliance in protecting the user privacy data in the dark data source based on the target user privacy data compliance policy. The method may further include, in response to the non-compliance, processing, with the processor circuitry, the user privacy data to eliminate the non-compliance.

In another embodiment, a system for governing user privacy data may include a memory having stored thereon executable instructions and a processor circuitry in communication with the memory. When executing the instructions, the processor may be configured to detect a dark data source in a data ecosystem. The data ecosystem may include a plurality of data sources storing user privacy data. The dark data source may represent at least one data source of the plurality of data sources in which it is unknown whether user privacy data is stored. The at least one data source may include a plurality of datasets. The processor may be further configured to identify user information and relationship from the data ecosystem according to a lineage of datasets. The processor may be further configured to scan the dark data source by executing a natural language processing engine to identify existence of and content of user privacy data in the dark data source based on the user information and relationship. The processor may be further configured to select a target user privacy data compliance policy from a plurality of user privacy data compliance policies based on a geographical region associated with the dark data source and detect non-compliance in protecting the user privacy data in the dark data source based on the target user privacy data compliance policy. The processor may be further configured to, in response to the non-compliance, process the user privacy data to eliminate the non-compliance.

In another embodiment, a product for governing user privacy data is disclosed. The product may include machine-readable media other than a transitory signal and instructions stored on the machine-readable media. When being executed, the instructions may be configured to cause a processor to detect a dark data source in a data ecosystem. The data ecosystem may include a plurality of data sources storing user privacy data. The dark data source may represent at least one data source of the plurality of data sources in which it is unknown whether user privacy data is stored. The at least one data source may include a plurality of datasets. The instructions may be further configured to cause the processor to identify user information and relationship from the data ecosystem according to a lineage of datasets. The instructions may be further configured to cause the processor to scan the dark data source by executing a natural language processing engine to identify existence of and content of user privacy data in the dark data source based on the user information and relationship. The instructions may be further configured to cause the processor to select a target user privacy data compliance policy from a plurality of user privacy data compliance policies based on a geographical region associated with the dark data source and detect non-compliance in protecting the user privacy data in the dark data source based on the target user privacy data compliance policy. The instructions may be further configured to cause the processor to, in response to the non-compliance, process the user privacy data to eliminate the non-compliance.

One interesting feature of the systems and methods described below may be that it may warrant a continuous compliance in protecting user privacy data. In particular, it may dynamically detect new data sources that may store user privacy data, for example, by monitoring newly added data source to the data ecosystem. Then, the new data sources may be scanned for non-compliance based on a specific user privacy data compliance policy. Upon detecting the non-compliance, the systems and methods may process the user privacy data in the data sources to eliminate the non-compliance.

The above embodiments and other aspects and alternatives of their implementations are explained in greater detail in the drawings, the descriptions, and the claims.

The present disclosure may be better understood with reference to the following drawings and description. The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale. Moreover, in the figures, like-referenced numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the different views.

A data ecosystem in an organization may include numerous data sources used by different units in the organization. The data sources may include, for example, structured data storage, unstructured/semi-structured data storage, and big data storage. The structured data storage may include, for example, MySQL, MS SQL, PostgreSOL, Oracle, AWS RDS, AWS Redshift, Azure SQL database, Azure data warehouse, GCP cloud SQL, Google Bigquery, AWS Aurora DB, and Snowflake. The unstructured/semi-structured data storage may include file share, Shared Folders, CSV, JSON, XML, PARQUET, Windows File System, Unix File System, AWS S3, Azure file storage, Azure blob storage, Azure data lake storage (ADLS), and Google Storage. The big data storage may include, for example, Hadoop file systems (HDFS), AWS Amazon Elastic MapReduce (EMR).

User privacy data may be distributed in the data sources for different use purposes. The user privacy data may include, for example, personally identifiable information (PII), protected health information (PHI), sensitive personal data, and commercially sensitive data. The PII may include information which is related to one or more of: identified natural persons; personally identifiable information of natural persons; personally identifying information of natural persons; user specific information of natural persons that is or should be under the control of the user and otherwise not publically available; or some combination thereof. For example, PII may include data identifying a user such as a social security number, a driver license number, an employee identifier, data identifying characteristics about the user, data identifying the health status of the user, and the like. PII may include all individually identifiable health information, including demographic data, medical histories, test results, insurance information, and other information used to identify a patient or provide healthcare services or healthcare coverage.

The user privacy data governance system in the present disclosure may facilitate an organization to effectively protect the user privacy data stored in the data ecosystem of the organization to comply with individual governmental data privacy protection regulations. <FIG> illustrates an exemplary multiple-layer user privacy data governance (PDG) stack <NUM> included in the user privacy data governance system. The user privacy data governance system described herein may use the PDG stack <NUM> to dynamically scan the data ecosystem to identify user privacy data distributed in the numerous data sources, detect the non-compliance in protecting the user privacy data under a specific data privacy protection regulation, and process the user privacy data to eliminate the non-compliance.

In this example, the PDG stack <NUM> may include a data staging layer <NUM>, a detection layer <NUM>, a configuration layer <NUM>, a privacy governing layer <NUM>, and a presentation layer <NUM>. The PDG stack <NUM> may include a multiple-layer computing structure of hardware and software that may warrant compliance in storing and using user privacy data by dynamically scanning the data sources and analyzing and eliminating non-compliance.

A stack may refer to a multi-layered computer architecture that defines the interaction of software and hardware resources at the multiple layers. The Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model is an example of a stack-type architecture. The layers of a stack may pass data and hardware resources among themselves to facilitate data processing. As one example, for the PDG stack <NUM>, the data staging layer <NUM> may provide the system with storage resources to store ingested and generated data within a database or other data structure. In some implementations, the data staging layer <NUM> may be deployed as a cloud-based database platform with the capability to process mass data. In an example, an underlying Big Data Lake of the database platform is capable of ingesting data from heterogeneous data sources such as Secured Storage, Hadoop file systems (HDFS) connections, relational databases, flat files, and other data operations. Hence, the data staging layer <NUM> may provide a hardware resource, e.g., memory resources, to the system. Accordingly, the multiple-layer stack architecture of the PDG stack <NUM> may improve the functioning of the underlying hardware.

In the following, reference is made to <FIG> and an example PDG logic <NUM> in <FIG>. It will be appreciated that the logical features of the example PDG logic <NUM> may be implemented in various orders and combinations. For example, in a first implementation, one or more features may be omitted or reordered with respect to a second implementation. At the detection layer <NUM> of the PDG stack <NUM>, the PDG logic <NUM> may detect a dark data source <NUM> in the data ecosystem (<NUM>). The dark data source may, for example, represent one or more data sources of the numerous data sources in which it is unknown whether user privacy data is stored. The data source may a plurality of datasets. The datasets may, for example, represent containers that are used to organize and control access to database tables and views.

In an implementation, the PDG logic <NUM> may monitor data changes in the data ecosystem to determine if a new data source joins the data ecosystem. In response to the joining, the PDG logic <NUM> may take the new data source as the dark data source <NUM>. In another implementation, the PDG logic <NUM> may monitor if a new dataset is created in an existing data source by periodically or non-periodically (e.g., hourly, six hours, daily, weekly, month-date, and yearly) scanning the data sources. In response to the creation, the PDG logic <NUM> may take the existing data source as the dark data source <NUM>. In another implementation, the PDG logic <NUM> may scan the data ecosystem according to a predetermined scan time interval to identify a data source newly added to the data ecosystem and determine the newly added data source as the dark data source <NUM>. The PDG logic <NUM> then may, at the detection layer <NUM>, store the detection result of dark data sources <NUM> via a memory operation at the data staging layer <NUM>.

At the configuration layer <NUM>, the PDG logic <NUM> may identify user information and relationship <NUM> from the data ecosystem according to a lineage of datasets. The lineage of datasets may represent life cycle of data in the datasets that include the data origin, what happens to it and where it moves over time. By tracking the lineage, the PDG logic <NUM> may find the user information and relationship <NUM> distributed in the numerous datasets. In an example, the user information may include various characteristic information used to identify a user in the data ecosystem such as a user identifier, an identifier of group that the user belongs to, and a geographical location of the user. The user relationship may include, for example, business relationship and personal relationship, which may help to identify additional users whose privacy data need to be scanned.

At the configuration layer <NUM>, the PDG logic <NUM> may also configure user privacy data tags <NUM> which may be used as keywords to scan the dark data source for user privacy data. For example, the PDG logic <NUM> may retrieve the predefined privacy data tags <NUM> from the system storage via the data staging layer <NUM>. For another example, the PDG logic <NUM> may receive the customized privacy data tags <NUM> input by the system operator via a graphical user interface, for example, implemented at the present layer <NUM>.

At the privacy governing layer <NUM>, the PDG logic <NUM> may scan the dark data source by executing a natural language processing engine to identify existence of and content of user privacy data in the dark data source based on the identified user information and relationship <NUM> (<NUM>). The natural language processing engine may utilize statistical model, machine learning model, or deep learning model to analyze natural language data. In an implementation, the PDG logic <NUM> may determine the users whose user privacy data is to be scanned base on the identified user information and relationship <NUM>. Then, the PDG logic <NUM> may input data from the dark data source to the natural language processing engine, which may analyze the input data to determine whether there is privacy data for the users. For example, the PDG logic <NUM> may identify the user privacy data based on privacy data tags <NUM> predefined in the system as shown in Table <NUM> and privacy data tags <NUM> configured at the configuration layer <NUM>, as described above.

At the privacy governing layer <NUM>, the PDG logic <NUM> may select a target user privacy data compliance policy from a plurality of user privacy data compliance policies based on a geographical region associated with the dark data source (<NUM>). The global countries or regions may enforce different policies to protect user privacy data. Below is a list of example data compliance policies:.

In an implementation, the PDG logic <NUM> may determine the geographical region associated with the dark data source based on a geographical location where the dark data source is physically stored. For example, if the dark data source is physically stored in Germany, the PDG logic <NUM> may determine the geographical region associated with the dark data source to be European Union, and accordingly select the GDPR as the target user privacy data compliance policy. Alternatively or additionally, the PDG logic <NUM> may determine the geographical region associated with the dark data source based on a geographical location where the dark data source is accessed. For example, if the dark data source is being accessed from California, the PDG logic <NUM> may determine the geographical region associated with the dark data source to be the United States. As such, the PDG logic <NUM> may select the CCPA as the target user privacy data compliance policy.

At the privacy governing layer <NUM>, the PDG logic <NUM> may detect non-compliance in protecting the user privacy data in the dark data source based on the target user privacy data compliance policy (<NUM>). In an implementation, the PDG logic <NUM> may retrieve the privacy data protection rules defined in the target user privacy data compliance policy from the data storage at the data staging layer <NUM>. Then, the PDG logic <NUM> may apply the rules to the user privacy data to identify the non-compliance in storing and using the user privacy data. The non-compliance may include, for example, a failure to back up user privacy data, a failure to encrypt or mask user privacy data, a failure to set expiration date for using user privacy data, and the like.

When detecting the non-compliance, the PDG logic <NUM> may process the user privacy data to eliminate the non-compliance (<NUM>). In an example, the non-compliance is the failure to backup user privacy data. The PDG logic <NUM> may identify datasets including the user privacy data from the dark data source and generate backup datasets for the datasets including the user privacy data. For purpose of data safety, the PDG logic <NUM> may transfer the backup datasets to a different geographical location than the original datasets. In another example, the non-compliance is the failure to encrypt or mask user privacy data. The PDG logic <NUM> may identify datasets including the user privacy data from the dark data source and encrypt or mask the dataset including the user privacy data. The dataset encryption may, for example, represent a process of translating data stored in the dataset from plaintext (unencrypted) to ciphertext (encrypted). The encrypted data may be accessed with an encryption key. The dataset masking may, for example, represent a process of hiding original data with modified content (characters or other data).

Under a user privacy data compliance policy such as GDPR, individuals whose personal information is collected and/or used in Europe or collected from individuals located in Europe have the following rights over their personal information which is collected, stored and used:.

The PDG logic <NUM> may effectively ensure the individual right requests to be processed by executing the individual right requests and validating completion of the individual right requests. In an example, when receiving an individual right request for a user privacy data, the PDG logic <NUM> may search the dark data source to identify a plurality of datasets to which the individual right request is applicable, execute operation on the plurality of datasets according to the individual right request; and validate a completion of the individual right request. For example, the individual right request is related to the right to rectification which involves correction of privacy data of the user. The PDG logic <NUM> may execute a corresponding update operation on the datasets including the privacy data and then query the datasets to validate that the privacy data has been corrected. In some implementations, the PDG logic <NUM> may maintain a periodic check on the storage and operation of user privacy data in the applicable datasets to ensure the compliance with the executed individual right request.

Moreover, consent is foundational to modern privacy compliance. For a growing number of privacy regulations worldwide, explicit consent from a user is needed to process their personal data. The consent may include consent opt-in and consent opt-out. The consent opt-in may grant a data collector to access the user privacy data while the consent opt-out may withdraw the grant to the data collector to access the user privacy data. The PDG stack <NUM> may maintain consent repository with the right amount of details to allow the demonstration of regulation compliance, for example, at the data staging layer <NUM>. The PDG logic <NUM> may process the user's consent opt-in request and consent opt-out request with respect to their privacy data.

In an implementation, when processing a consent opt-in request for a user privacy data, the PDG logic <NUM> may determine a consent opt-out date for the user privacy data based on a consent opt-in request for the user privacy data. The consent opt-out date may represent the date when the grant to access to the user privacy data is withdrawn, i.e., an access expiration date. In an example, the PDG logic <NUM> may directly extract the consent opt-out date from the consent opt-in request. In another example, the PDG logic <NUM> may calculate the consent opt-out date based on the consent opt-in date in the consent opt-in request according to a predefined access expiration rule. Then, the PDG logic <NUM> may generate a consent opt-out request for the user privacy data based on the opt-out consent date. The generated consent opt-out request may ensure that the access grant to the user privacy data has to expire at some point, and thereby protecting the user privacy data.

Additionally, when receiving an operation request for a user privacy data from a request source such as a data collector, the PDG logic <NUM> may determine if the request source has access grant to the user privacy data. Where the access grant to the request source has been withdrawn, the PDG logic <NUM> may remove the user privacy data from the dataset to which the operation request is directed so as to protect the user privacy data.

Now referring to the presentation layer <NUM> in <FIG>, where the PDG logic <NUM> may access the privacy data governance results from the privacy governing layer <NUM>, e.g., via data staging layer <NUM> memory operations to generate a PDG-control interface <NUM> including a PDG-window presentation <NUM>. The PDG-window presentation <NUM> may include data and/or selectable options related to the privacy data governance such as privacy data scanning and privacy data backup and encryption.

<FIG> shows an exemplary privacy data compliance dashboard <NUM>. The compliance dashboard <NUM> may, for example, include an organization's compliance to data privacy regulations including dark data source scanning for user privacy data, individual right request processing, and consent processing. As an example, the compliance dashboard <NUM> may include the number of registered data sources and the number of detected data sources. The registered data sources may include the data sources that have been scanned. The detected data sources may include both the data sources that have been scanned and the data sources that have not been scanned, i.e. dark data sources. Also, the compliance dashboard <NUM> may include backup status (backed up or not backed up) for all registered data sources, encryption status (encrypted or not encrypted) for all registered data sources, a total number of data breaches reported within the last twelve months, a total number of data transfers, and a total number of data lineage connections added to the data ecosystem.

<FIG> shows an exemplary compliance scanner <NUM>, which may for example include scan status of dark data source for a subsidiary of the organization, including scan start time, scan end time, and scan duration. The compliance scanner <NUM> may further include selectable options to start a new scan, stop a scan, and schedule a scan. In an example, the scan may include pre-scan, partial scan, and full scan. The pre-scan may include, for example, scanning a newly detected dark data source to simply identify whether there is user privacy data in the dark data source. The partial scan may include, for example, scanning a data source to determine if the data source complies with a specific portion of applicable compliance rules such as user privacy data backup and encryption. The full scan may include, for example, scanning a data source to determine if the data source complies with all applicable compliance rules.

<FIG> shows an exemplary compliance backup status <NUM> for user privacy data in the data ecosystem of the organization, including the number of data sources that are backed up and the number of data sources that are not backed up.

<FIG> shows an exemplary activity log <NUM> of the user privacy data governance system which can be viewed by date.

<FIG> shows an example system execution environment <NUM> for the PDG stack <NUM> described above. The execution environment <NUM> may include system logic <NUM> to support execution of the multiple layers of PDG stack <NUM> described above. The system logic may include processors <NUM>, memory <NUM>, and/or other circuitry.

The memory <NUM> may include privacy data governance parameters <NUM>, dark data source scan routines <NUM>, and operational rules <NUM>. The memory <NUM> may further include applications and structures <NUM>, for example, coded objects, machine instructions, templates, or other structures to support detecting dark data source, scanning dark data source to identify user privacy data, detecting non-compliance in protecting the user privacy data, processing the user privacy data to eliminate the non-compliance, or other tasks described herein. The applications and structures <NUM> may implement at least part of the PDG logic <NUM>.

The execution environment <NUM> may also include network interface circuitry <NUM>, which may support wireless, e.g. Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, WLAN, cellular (<NUM>, LTE/A, <NUM>), and/or wired, Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, optical networking protocols. The network interface circuitry <NUM> may also include serial interfaces, such as universal serial bus (USB), serial ATA, IEEE <NUM>, lighting port, I<NUM>C, slimBus, or other serial interfaces. The network interface circuitry <NUM> may be used to support and/or implement remote operation of the PDG-control interface <NUM>. The execution environment <NUM> may include power functions <NUM> and various input interfaces <NUM>. The execution environment may also include a user interface <NUM> that may include human-to-machine interface devices and/or graphical user interfaces (GUI). The user interface <NUM> may be used to support and/or implement local operation of the PDG-control interface <NUM>. In various implementations, the system logic <NUM> may be distributed over one or more physical servers, be implemented as one or more virtual machines, be implemented in container environments such as Cloud Foundry or Docker, and/or be implemented in serverless (functions as-a-Service) environments.

In some cases, the execution environment <NUM> may be a specially defined computational system deployed in a cloud platform. In some cases, the parameters defining the execution environment may be specified in a manifest for cloud deployment. The manifest may be used by an operator to requisition cloud based hardware resources, and then deploy the software components, for example, the PDG stack <NUM>, of the execution environment onto the hardware resources. In some cases, a manifest may be stored as a preference file such as a YAML (yet another mark-up language), JSON, or other preference file type. Additionally or alternatively, the manifest may include custom scripts to implement the PDG stack <NUM> in a serverless environment. Therein, a multiple-tier framework is described. The framework describes a series of the serverless tasks controlled via scripts. The serverless tasks overlap in execution to maintain continuity across the tasks. The computational task is divided into chunks that may be handled by individual serverless tasks. Accordingly, a complex analytic process, such as those describe in this disclosure, may be divided into chunks and executed over one or more overlapping serverless tasks.

The methods, devices, processing, circuitry, and logic described above may be implemented in many different ways and in many different combinations of hardware and software. For example, all or parts of the system, including the network interface circuitry and the optimization circuitry, may be circuitry that includes an instruction processor, such as a Central Processing Unit (CPU), microcontroller, or a microprocessor; or as an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), Programmable Logic Device (PLD), or Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA); or as circuitry that includes discrete logic or other circuit components, including analog circuit components, digital circuit components or both; or any combination thereof. The circuitry may include discrete interconnected hardware components or may be combined on a single integrated circuit die, distributed among multiple integrated circuit dies, or implemented in a Multiple Chip Module (MCM) of multiple integrated circuit dies in a common package, as examples.

Accordingly, the circuitry may store or access instructions for execution, or may implement its functionality in hardware alone. The instructions may be stored in a tangible service resource unit medium that is other than a transitory signal, such as a flash memory, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a Read Only Memory (ROM), an Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EPROM); or on a magnetic or optical disc, such as a Compact Disc Read Only Memory (CDROM), Hard Disk Drive (HDD), or other magnetic or optical disk; or in or on another machine-readable medium. A product, such as a computer program product, may include a storage medium and instructions stored in or on the medium, and the instructions when executed by the circuitry in a device may cause the device to implement any of the processing described above or illustrated in the drawings.

Claim 1:
A method for governing user privacy data, comprising:
detecting, with a processor circuitry, a dark data source (<NUM>) in a data ecosystem, the data ecosystem comprising a plurality of data sources storing user privacy data, the dark data source representing at least one data source of the plurality of data sources in which it is unknown whether user privacy data is stored, the at least one data source comprising a plurality of datasets;
identifying, with the processor circuitry, user information and relationship from the data ecosystem according to a lineage of datasets;
scanning, with the processor circuitry, the dark data source by executing a natural language processing engine to identify existence of and content of user privacy data in the dark data source based on the user information and relationship;
selecting, with the processor circuitry, a target user privacy data compliance policy (<NUM>) from a plurality of user privacy data compliance policies based on a geographical region associated with the dark data source;
detecting, with the processor circuitry, non-compliance in protecting the user privacy data in the dark data source based on the target user privacy data compliance policy; and
in response to the non-compliance, processing, with the processor circuitry, the user privacy data to eliminate the non-compliance (<NUM>).