Don't Let the Data Demons Drag You Down

Not Again!

About a week ago, I received a letter from my medical insurance provider about yet another massive data breach that had occurred several weeks prior. In their opinion, it had not compromised any of the customers’ sensitive personal data.

Near-Panic Ensues

I should have found that comforting, but I wondered if, like me, millions of other letter recipients had the same thoughts pelt them like bricks: What if the insurance company was inaccurate? What if this latest breach proved to be another door which, when opened by brilliant and devious hackers, could steal my identity or property? What if criminals could easily secure loans for a house or expensive vehicle by using my stolen information?

Those concerns were not unfounded. Data might be one of the most important words of the 21st century, next to AI. And of course, AI depends on endless petabytes (1 million gigabytes) of data.

Data Is Forever

Let’s face it: we all need data, read data, learn from data, market and advertise using data, and stay connected with data. Medical institutions and their practitioners are now using it to save lives.

Environmentalists are using it to alert governments and innovators about creating methods to reduce the carbon footprint and save the planet from the adverse effects of climate change. So its importance cannot be overstated.

But there’s a critical problem with that emphasis. Consumers, who are more informed and educated about data collection, mining, and exploitation than they were even five years ago, are getting increasingly stressed about the difficulty of protecting their sensitive data.

A Topic on Everyone’s Mind

As worried as Americans are about the economy—particularly the middle- and lower-income sectors—Forbes contends that 86% of Americans are much more worried about guarding their private data. The other disturbing statistic is that two-thirds of Americans are poorly informed or unaware of how their data is being used.

Privacy notices are of little assistance. They are often lengthy, jammed with sophisticated legal jargon, and therefore left unread. But the worst part is they typically include vague phrases suggesting that specific circumstances will allow the data to be shared with unnamed third parties anyway.

Data Thieves Follow the Dollar?

Industries have arisen and developed around consumers’ fears and insecurities, and people are being coerced to spend even more money to protect their money and assets. It’s a vicious cycle.

Some authorities have stated that the sale of sensitive data on the Dark Web is so lucrative it makes the cocaine market pale by comparison. That’s disturbing.

Can’t We Just Fix It?

Unfortunately, the solution isn’t as “simple” as fighting for better legislation and consistent oversight, which is often complicated by concerns about free speech violations. Law enforcement agencies, branches of the military, businesses, and individuals have roles to play in finding feasible solutions.

In other words, resolving the problem of illegal data harvesting is a shared responsibility of both institutions and individuals. Finger-pointing wastes energy and precious time.

Data Protection Can Be Improved

Corporate employees need to do better at following policies in protecting company data, and corporations need to do a far better job of protecting both internal and external customer information. An emphasis on more thorough training and background checks during the recruiting process, especially for the technical staff, would make a critical difference.

But Wait—There’s More You Can Do!

Take these steps to guard your data at home, on your mobile devices, or at the workplace:

1. PERFORM SECURITY UPDATES IMMEDIATELY. When we’re busy, we often skip this step. That’s a big mistake. Those updates include security patches that make it difficult for hackers to buy that new Lamborghini by victimizing you and other innocent people.
2. Research. Do your homework before sending a penny to any unknown company. How long have they been in existence? Are the reviews a little too good to be true? Many unscrupulous companies want your purchase info much more than the money you send them.
3. When you receive a privacy notice, inspect it for opportunities to opt out of having your data shared with anyone other than the necessary authorities. Often you need only mark a short form or make a phone call to arrange this, and it will cut down on the data distribution.
4. Don’t click on an attachment from an unknown source, no matter how enticing the invitation. Even if nothing happens immediately, it is so easy for you to inadvertently install nasty worms, trojans, viruses, or sneaky software that can obtain all of your passwords and sensitive information.
5. Even if you receive a text or email from a well-known institution, leave that correspondence and either call your local institution directly or go to their official website. That way you can confirm the authenticity. And no reputable institution will ask you to email passwords or account numbers.
6. Beware of the phishing sites. Here’s how it works: You will receive an email that supposedly came from a well-known institution or business. By clicking on the link it contains, it will bring you to an authentic-looking website that will require you to enter your username, password, credit card, or other sensitive details. Always act on the side of caution and go to the official website instead or call the business directly if you have a business card.
7. Whenever possible, use 2FA (two-factor authentication) to access your files, even those on Google Drive, which is supposed to be fairly secure. Criminals can unencrypt your files and leave you vulnerable to a data hack. This is because Google keeps encryption keys for all the files on Google Drive.
8. Consider investing in an account with a security company that helps to protect your data on an ongoing basis and warns you when one of your accounts shows suspicious activity. You can call them, too, when you experience an emergency, such as getting your purse or wallet stolen or when you realize you gave out personal information because of a clever scam. Those companies can quickly reduce your stress headaches with doable advice and a rapid response.

Conclusion

Are data security steps inconvenient? Once in a while, yes! But are they worth it? Yes! Stress significantly erodes your health, so do yourself a favor and do your part to block this source of it.

If you don’t think government agencies or representatives are stepping up to the plate, write to them. Use social media to exert a positive influence by getting people more actively involved in protecting their data. We can all make a difference and tell the data demons to go to...well…you know. ??

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