Data

Data.  When people hear this word, most usually think of rows of computers storing stuff, hard drives full of information, file folders full of papers containing all sorts of writing and mathematical equations.

Well, to be honest, that is what Data is. Collection and storage of information. Although nowadays, Data that is being collected is not just research material and experiments, etc.  A large majority of what you hear about Data and Data collection is all about us. Yes, us, our personal information. Not just some of it, but almost all of it is trying to be harvested from everything we do. Every website, every App, every game, everything is trying to collect information about you. Many of us don't realize it or recognize it.  But all those webpages we go to place cookies on our browsers either saving information for us or keeping track of where we go. Our browsers ask to save our passwords, address, and all other types of stuff we don't like typing in every time we browse somewhere new. This along with ads, and other things we allow our browsers to do while we surf, is all sending that data somewhere and storing it. Which in turn, leads to those pesky privacy issues, and all that spam email you end up getting.

What most people don't realize is that "Data" has become a huge commodity amongst the internet, both for illegal and legal use. It is becoming a huge business. Hackers want your information in order to steal your identity, get fake credit cards, and all that fun stuff.  Businesses want your information, in order to gear their advertising towards the products you like and look at on the web.

You hear about hacked, compromised and breached websites on a daily basis now. Tons of information being stolen, stored and sold on the deep web. (Deep Web, another upcoming topic soon, feel free to check the link to familiarize yourself with what it is.) The average person doesn't pay attention and sluffs it off as everyday happenings.  That is until they get a phone call or letter from their bank regarding unusual or high price purchases, even large cash withdrawals from outside of the country, that they will suddenly pay attention.

Medical information, bank information, financial information, name, address, social security & social insurance numbers, driver's license, etc.  All this information about you has become gold. If you don't protect it, it will be stolen and used.  All it takes is a few simple steps to protect yourself and your information.

Although Data breaches are beyond our control, you can control what data you put out there. For example, Never store your credit card information on a site, never do online banking on public wifi, try to avoid giving personal information to sites that it doesn't seem relevant to.

Here is a link to another blog that has some awesome tips and ways to keep yourself and your data safe!

101 Data protection tips by Digital Guardian.


Don't forget, Google is your friend as well!  Just search for "how to keep my data safe online" or "how to stay safe online" and you will get some good reads!


Sevenowl.