Model for reducing risks to private or sensitive data

Software systems can be found in almost every aspect of our lives, as can be seen in social media, online banking and shopping, as well as electronic health monitoring. This widespread involvement in our lives has led to the need to protect privacy, as the use of the software often requires us to input our personal information. Software systems can also hold sensitive data (e.g., a trade secret) that is vulnerable to theft. The key to protecting private or sensitive data in software systems is the knowledge of where the data resides in the system. This paper proposes a new model for visualizing a software system that focuses on the location of private or sensitive data, in order to gain insight into the attendant risks to attacks on the data. The model can then be modified to suggest ways of reducing these risks in the software system.