Cyber Security and Broken Circles of Trust: How to Protect Your Data in a World of Increasing Vulnerability
In today's digital world, our data is constantly under threat. With hackers becoming more sophisticated and technology becoming more complex, the increased connectiveness of our devises has resulted in our data becoming more vulnerable than ever.
When looking at the social atmosphere surrounding our data, one of the biggest threats to our data is the broken circle of trust. As data continues to be sold by those with malicious intent, a culture of fear and reluctancy has formed around conversations surrounding data.
Well… we’re here to change that.
How Does My Data Get Leaked?
We’ve all seen the stories in the news. “Multi-Billion Dollar Company Has Massive Data Leak!” or “Ordinary Person Has Their Life Savings Stolen By Hackers!”, but how does this actually happen?
There’s two main ways your data can be distributed without your position: by being sold by a data broker or through a leak.
A data broker is a company that collects, packages, and sells people’s data to other businesses for a profit. The data included in this sale is usually personal information such as age, gender, address, interests, and most used devices/ platforms. This information is then used to inform the buyers marketing strategy in the same way that cookies can inform your Google ads. However, a key different between this data distribution method and the next, is that you (the data owner) must consent to the distribution before it takes place. This usually happens when you click “I consent to my data being shared with third parties” when you download an app or place an online order. If you do not agree, then the sale is illegal, and while these illegal sales do happen, large scale companies can get in serious trouble if they’re caught.
The second distribution method is a leak. This happens when there is a failure in a company’s internal data base that has then allowed a gap for hackers or bots to get a hold of people’s data. Malware can also be used to gain access to data in this instance.
The data involved in these leaks is usually much more personal than the latter method, with bank statements, identification numbers, and confidential documents being some of the primary targets.
Breaking The Circle of Trust
No matter the circumstances, a data leak will inevitably break the circle and result in a sense of vulnerability within the data sector.
On a personal level, realising that your data has been stolen can cause you to lose access to your accounts, financial information, and identity. In certain cases, it can even lead to people being accused of crimes as a result of identity fraud.
But even if you don’t get your data stolen, the prospect of a leak often leads people to make rash decisions with their data. This hyper awareness and anxiety creates a sense of vulnerability causing many people to feel uncomfortable talking about data protection and are therefore unaware of the simple things they can do to keep their data safer.
How to Protect Your Data
Starting your journey to data protection starts with 4 easy steps:
Make sure to use strong passwords that include a mix of characters and change them regularly.
Be careful about what information you share online. Don’t share information with anyone you don’t trust, even if that information seems irrelevant. For example, many people experience data breaches as a result of answering online quizzes as they often ask personal questions that are commonly used as passwords. E.g. what was the name of your childhood pet?
Install up to date security software on ALL of your devices.
Be suspicious of emails or text messages that ask for personal information. 88% of data breaches are caused by human error such as clicking a non-secure link or entering a password on a non-official website.
Your Next Steps
In a world of increasing data vulnerability, it’s important to stay informed when it comes to protecting your private information. While it’s not always possible to stop the break in a circle of trust, by following the tips above you can start on your next steps to data protection.
