Importance of Data Privacy
In June 2021, 700 million users of the professional networking giant LinkedIn found their data posted on a dark web forum by a hacker with the byname “God User”. Although LinkedIn assured that there was no data breach, and it was merely a violation of the terms and conditions, the data sample posted included the email addresses, phone numbers, geolocation records, genders and other social media details, which is plenty of information for someone to commit cybercrime.
Data Privacy, in the digital age, may seem like a small issue to many-- a gum stuck in the sole of your shoe that does not really affect your morning stroll-- but it is in fact something to be wary about. For individuals, infraction of data can lead to frauds, their information being sold to numerous advertisers or outside parties, and even restrict their ability to roam around freely. For companies, it is even more damaging. Not only can it significantly ruin their reputation beyond repair, but it could also lead to fines, sanctions, affect their chances against their competitors, and even more legal problems. In the big picture, data breach at a government agency can lead to critical information falling into the hands of the enemy state. A similar thing happened back in 2016, when a German Newspaper published the leaked 11.5 million legal and financial records relating to several corrupt politicians and elites in the Panama Papers, which caused an uproar all over the world. So, the “gum” that you were ignoring becomes the death of the shoe and goes so far as to affect the strides you take in the future.
There is also the issue of identity theft, where crafty fraudsters steal identities using ways like dumpster diving (stealing discarded items like mail or hard drives), phishing (where they impersonate as trusted individuals to extract personal information about their victim, from their victim), or simply through high-tech means, which is mostly used to bring down large corporations. These identities could then be sold to illegal trading websites.
We cannot really put an end to cybercrime, but what we can do is take preventative measures to minimize the probability of becoming a victim to one of these frauds. This could be as simple as locking mailboxes or using a mail slot to avoid theft, shredding documents that have any kind of personal information before discarding them and using strong passwords for all online accounts. Wiping hard drives when getting rid of hardware like computers could moreover prevent fraud, as well as securing your home Wi-Fi network along with other devices so that criminals do not “eavesdrop” on your online activity. In addition, not sharing any personal information via phone or email is a good way to keep your data safe, because reputable organizations refrain from this mode of acquiring information. Banks like Al-Habib repeatedly remind you to not share your OTP on call if you are asked to do so.
Twitter user and a privacy tech worker, Robert G. Reeve, tweets, “...We have decided our privacy just isn't worth it. It's a losing battle.” Maybe that is true. But it is our responsibility to not succumb to these frauds. Sure, it is a losing battle. But it is a battle, nonetheless.