Is your personal data safe? Have you ever been cautious about who should be able to access personal data? Are you worried about who has access to your data? Today, this blog gives detailed information to you on how your data is being used and how to protect your personal data.
This new era requires sharing your personal data in huge amounts for various reasons. Also, the concerns about the safety and security of your information are raising serious questions about the security of your personal data.
It’s never too late to take precautions to protect your private information from malicious actors. In this article, let’s explore the various threats to personal data security and offer practical steps individuals can take to ensure the safety of their personal data.
But this advanced technology also raises some serious questions: Is your personal data really private? Can we trust those who collect it to use it only for legitimate purposes and keep it safe from hackers and other malicious actors? In this essay, we will explore the complexities of data privacy and its implications for individuals, businesses, and society as a whole.
What is Personal Data?
Usually, the definition of “personal data” is always varied for various reasons. When you say “Personal Data,” it may include things like your name, address, phone number, and email address.
Such information may have been shared with others without your knowledge or agreement by people with whom you have shared it, such as friends, relatives, or companies you engage with. Millions of individuals have had their private information stolen due to many high-profile data breaches in recent years.
Second, it is subject to local restrictions and legislation. There are stringent regulations in place in certain jurisdictions regarding the acquisition, storage, and use of personally identifiable information, with stiff penalties for violators. There may be fewer restrictions in other regions, making it simpler for businesses to gather information about you without your permission.
Finally, safeguarding your information is crucial. You can protect yourself by doing things like not revealing too much personal information online, using strong passwords, and using two-factor authentication for your various online accounts.
Examples of Personal Data:
Here are the major examples of personal data:
- Name and surname
- Residential address
- Email address
- Identification card numbers
- Payment card details
- Location details
- Mobile phone number
- Internet protocol address
- Cookie ID, if required
- Your mobile advertising identifier
- Data held by a hospital or doctor is a symbol that uniquely identifies a person.
Who has your personal data?
Do you know who is using your personal data? Have you ever wondered how you are targeted for multiple advertisements from various sources? Is your personal data safe? Let’s learn why the necessity of sharing your personal information.
Most of us are not aware of who can see your data; thus we unconsciously share our personal information with anyone at any time without giving much thought about it. For instance, there are various companies that collect the personal data of their customers and users. They share this data with third-party partners and service providers for multiple reasons like marketing, analytics, etc.
As per the requirement, company partners may also share your personal data with their respective partners or service providers, which results in creating a complex web of data sharing.
What are the different types of Personal Data?
According to various privacy acts, personal data or personal information is divided into several categories. The most common covered personal information types are listed below:
- Private Information:
This information is associated with your personal or group’s life which usually defines an individual’s identity and behavior, such as phone number, name, address, bank details, etc.
- Health Information:
This information includes your health data like diseases, disabilities, injuries, allergies, test results, medical history, prescription details, organ donation information, genetics, etc.
- Sensitive Personal Data:
This information contains details which are delicate about someone, such as religious views, racial origin, health, and genetic, and biometric information such as facial, electronic signature, fingerprints, criminal record, sexual preferences, etc.
- Tax Information:
Every taxpayer, at one point, has to reveal their financial life or activities to the outer world. Tax information can also be considered as personal information. Your tax data is generally revealed to agencies who are dealing with your finance, likely at times as income tax returns, financial records, pay slips, claims, etc.
- Employee Information:
This information is protected by the organization irrespective of the size of their employees. Employees provide their data at the time of joining for security reasons with the company, such as health data, personal data, date of birth, contact information, etc.
- Payment Card Information:
Payment cards such as debit cards and credit card information are often exposed while doing digital transactions and other ways. This information is mainly leading to fraud and identity theft due to exposing personal data resulting in data breaches. This information includes individual data such as credit or debit cardholder name, card number, CVV number, Primary Account Number (PAN), Expiration date, service code, phone number and other communication channels such as Email details.
- Contact Information:
This information includes the data we share with others to contact us, such as email id, phone number, mailing address, etc.
- Biometric Information:
This information includes the data related to your physical or behavioral characteristics such as facial recognition, fingerprint, voice recognition, eye scanner, etc.
- Internet Activity Information:
This information includes your data related to your day-to-day internet activity, such as browsing history, saved passwords, search history, social media activity, ecommerce details, etc.
- Location Information:
This information includes your personal location details such as GPS coordinates, IP address, physical address, etc.
In short, personal data can take any form and identify in different ways. It is essential to be aware of the different types of data we share and the consequences we might face.
Why Personal Data require Protection?
Personal data protection is also a fundamental right across the globe. This fundamental right is also recognized by various national and international laws and regulations.
These laws are designed to give every individual control over their personal data. If a data breach occurs, companies and organizations are held accountable as they collect, use, store and share the data as required.
Personal data protection might be difficult at times. Here are some of the reasons why personal information must be safeguarded:
- To prevent identification theft
- To protect your financial information from falling into the wrong hands
- To protect your employment status from fraudulent
- Preserve your or your company’s reputation by avoiding negative events or harm.
How to protect your Personal Data?
It is crucial to review the company’s privacy policy and services. Understanding the collection, usage and sharing of your data with the company is necessary.
There are multiple countries or regions which have laws for companies to provide individuals access to their own personal data, which they can delete or correct at the request of officials.
Also, follow the below-mentioned tips to protect your data:
- Always be cautious about whom you are sharing your details with and how useful the information is for them.
- For digital data privacy, try to use encryption format to protect your information.
- Secure your social security numbers and other details.
- Install an antivirus or firewall for your computer system.
However, even by taking several safety measures, it is still difficult to know exactly who can access your data and how your personal data can be used at any time.
The only way to protect your personal data is to be cautious about whom you are sharing your personal information, either online or offline, and to take precautionary steps to protect your data however possible.
How Digital Technology Effects Personal Data Privacy?
With the advent of digital technology, our daily lives have been enriched with numerous benefits and conveniences. Our everyday lives have been made easier because we can shop, bank, and communicate online from wherever we are.
In today’s digital era, personal data has become a very valuable commodity for various reasons. Our digital devices are playing a crucial role in data privacy. Whenever we are using digital devices such as smartphones, laptops, or other digital devices, we are leaving a trail of data for the exposure of the outer world.
If you are digitally advanced, you are well aware of using your details in various platforms. From our browsing history to multiple ecommerce platforms, from sharing our location to our social media activity, we are exposing our information to the external world.
All this information is usually used to collect, store and analyze by various companies and organizations for multiple requirements as marketing for targeted audiences.
However, with the increasing amount of personal information being shared and stored digitally, questions regarding the privacy and security of our personal data have become more pressing than ever.
Examples of Online Privacy Threats:
Data privacy threats can occur for both small and big data sharing. The most frequent privacy threats that result in the constant reduction of your data safety online are as follows:
- Common, reused or weak passwords
- Oversharing of your personal data
- IoT Devices
- Using the Internet without a secure connection
Conclusion:
But what happens to this data? Is your personal data safe? Is it really private, as we’re often led to believe? The truth is our personal data is constantly at risk of being exposed, hacked, or even sold to third parties. This article brought some light to the challenges of protecting our digital privacy and how individuals, businesses, and governments can collaborate to safeguard personal data in the digital age.
In conclusion, there are techniques to protect your information, but it’s still vulnerable to a variety of security attacks. It is high time to think about “who can see your data” and take precautions to keep your information safe at all times by being aware of the circumstances and avoiding these threats.
