Are Consumers Beginning to Wake Up to the Privacy Issues and What Happens to Their Data?
The modern digital age wouldn’t be possible without the help of the internet as it allows people from across the globe to connect and stay connected. The internet is a wonderful innovation that caused a massive shift in how many things operate today including that business.
The use of the internet makes advertising significantly easier and cheaper in many industries such as real estate as seen in these real estate marketing strategies examples where the internet plays a key role in several marketing tactics.
Despite the abundant use of the internet, it is not an entirely safe place as anyone who is using the internet is always prone to cyber threats and attacks which risk our data privacy and in turn compromise our safety.
What is Data Privacy and the Issues related to it?
Data privacy refers to the personal data we have built and provided to any website on the internet that usually contains sensitive information. This sensitive information can range from your identity to access to your finances and bank accounts. Furthermore, data can also be built based on your search history and things you view using any internet browser.
When it comes to issues with data privacy, can come in two shapes and forms. The first issue is regarding data built on your interests and provided data that get sold and analyzed by different companies. This data is used to create products, ads, or content that cater to your taste which may or may not improve your internet surfing experience and lies more in a gray area with things.
The second issue comes in the form of stolen data that comes from an attacker illegally accessing your account and copying or even modifying the information you provided. Attacks usually happen because of careless internet surfing as simply accessing a suspicious website or opening certain emails can lead to your data getting stolen and compromised.
What Happens to your Stolen Data?
If you become a victim of an attack that steals your private data, the most likely scenario is the attacker getting a complete copy of all available information from the website or associated account that gets attacked. We already discussed the potential data that can be stolen from your account and what happens to them varies based on the data that gets stolen.
One of the most common things that happen to stolen data, particularly your identity, is attackers using it to pose as you or do suspicious actions under your legal name. Furthermore, access to your banks and payments can lead to your money getting transferred or spent on purchases you didn’t make.
What Can You Do to Mitigate the Risks?
Although it is not impossible to eliminate the risks of browsing the internet without worrying about your data getting attacked, there are certain things you can do to mitigate the risks significantly. The first thing you can do is get a browser protector that checks each website before they are opened and explored. Browser protection is a powerful tool that combats digital attacks as it can detect any suspicious activity before your data gets stolen.
Another thing you can practice is being mindful of the website you are opening. This isn’t only limited to suspicious pop-ups and ads that you might click but also the website itself. Many attacking websites are often disguised as legitimate websites and looking closer at the web URL allows you to tell the fake ones from the real ones.
The last thing you can do to mitigate your risks is by using your common sense. Your common sense will help with avoiding many internet scams like fake raffle draws and lottery winnings. If you won something out of the blue, chances are that it’s fake and a cyberattack in the waiting.
