Final answer:
The biggest privacy risks in scanning for personally identifiable information occur with unstructured data. Unstructured data is not easily searchable or secure, posing significant challenges for online privacy and has been linked to substantial data breaches. In research, using secondary data is considered nonreactive, a non-intrusive way of gathering data without influencing the subjects.
Step-by-step explanation:
When scanning for Personally Identifiable Information (PI), the biggest privacy risks come from unstructured data. Unlike structured data, which is organized and formatted in a way that is easy to search and manage, unstructured data includes texts, emails, social media posts, and documents that are not as easily searchable or secure. It is a significant challenge in terms of online privacy and security, as demonstrated by large-scale data breaches at major organizations where hackers were able to access personal information. These breaches underscore the vulnerability of unstructured data and the importance of safeguarding it from unauthorized access.
To address the question regarding secondary data, using secondary data is considered an unobtrusive or nonreactive method of research. This means that the data collection does not influence or alter the behavior of the subjects being studied. In such cases, researchers analyze existing data, therefore avoiding any direct contact with participants.