As the search into the missing Malaysia Airlines plane continues, rumours and conspiracy theories begin popping up, further driving speculations and adding several extra layers of mystery over the already confounding disappearance of flight MH370.

Being in the newsroom, we have been following the news closely since day one. During every live broadcast of the press conference regarding flight MH370, we in the newsroom and many others would give it our complete attention while sincerely hoping that perhaps this press conference will unveil a possible new lead that will help the Search and Rescue team locate the missing aircraft.

As the world watches with bated breath, more speculations begin to circulate, feeding the anxious and the curious - resulting in the situation where there are more questions than answers.

The facts we know now is are that the aircraft disappeared unexpectedly from the radar screens early Saturday, March 8. There were no distress calls from the pilots, while the search and rescue efforts by 13 countries (57 ships and 48 aircraft) to date have not yielded any conclusive results.

In a world that is data driven, one will just not be able to grasp around the simple fact: how can an airplane disappear?

What is the one device you have in your hands at almost every other minute of the day? The answer for the majority of us would be – a mobile device. Be it a smart phone or tablet.

Quoting IBM, data is becoming the world’s new natural resource. According to IBM, 1 trillion connected objects & devices will be generating data by 2015. Currently there are 2.5 billion gigabytes of data generated every day. So the question is, where is the data that may have the possible leads to the whereabouts of MH370?

If you have been following the news since day one, the possible leads that the Search and Rescue team are based on in determining the “where” to start or to expand their search, relies on data; be it radar data (military/civilian), satellite data or engine data.

Some may ask, what about mobile phones? Can’t we trace the mobile phones of the passengers and cabin crew on board flight MH370?

When someone boards the aircraft he/she is asked to switch off the phone. Assuming the phones are not switched off, when the aircraft takes off, it goes out of cellular coverage hence it will be unreachable.

According to a telecommunication industry analyst from Frost and Sullivan, Naveen Mishra, a phone's location can only be identified when it is inside the network coverage. If a phone is within the network coverage, cellular towers can be used to locate the mobile phones, as the towers capture the information of every device inside the network.

A report from Fox News, cites similar view where the telecommunications experts say the odds that passengers' mobile phone data can help locate the missing Malaysian jetliner are next to zero.

The report further explains that locating the mobile phones of the 239 travelers on the aircraft isn't as simple as activating a "Find My iPhone" app. “Many people assume smartphones to be all-powerful tracking devices. Often police, rescue units and others can use a person's phone to pinpoint the user's precise location. Even so, there are large portions of the planet that don't have the transmission towers that are necessary for mobile communications. In the case of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370, smartphones are unlikely to lead investigators to the plane.”

What other possible data would lead the investigators to flight MH370? There have already been several false leads in the past few days as the search for missing plane continues.

Based on recent leads, White House’s spokesman, Jay Carney confirmed that US teams were shifting their focus to the Indian Ocean because of "new information", without providing further details.

The confirmation followed by a press statement by the U.S. Embassy in Malaysia that USS Kidd has been deployed to search the Indian Ocean, the world’s third largest with an average depth of nearly 3,900 meters (12,800 feet).

Quoting Commander William Marks of the US 7th Fleet comment to CNN, it is like going “from a chessboard to a football field”.

This move was announced after several US media reports on Thursday citing unnamed officials saying that the Boeing 777 (MH370) was "pinging" satellites for hours after its last contact with air-traffic controllers. It is also reported by Reuters that military radar-tracking saw an unidentified aircraft, believed to be the missing MH370, following a route between navigational waypoint.

It is believed that the plane was flying towards the Andaman Islands.

Data and technology did not fail us after all.

All hope is not lost. #PrayForMH370

Stay Strong and keep believing.