Don’t worry this article is not about sexually-transmitted diseases. But just like STDs, sharing personal information can be harmful to those who do not use protection.
Being online should be a personal experience and not a moment for vulnerability. With the increase of websites and applications to explore, it’s hard not to fall into the trap of sharing personal and sensitive information. In order to better understand the effects of sharing information, we should start off by defining what each of them mean.
According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, personal information means “information that can be used to distinguish or trace an individual’s identity, either alone or when combined with other information that is linked or linkable to a specific individual.”
Sensitive personal data encompasses much more personal information that should be protected and not in the hands of consumers. A few examples of sensitive personal information are:
- Political affiliations
- Religious beliefs
- Philosophical beliefs
- Race or ethnicity
- Sexual orientation
- Health data
- Biometric data
- Criminal history
- Credit or financial data
- Trade union and membership information
- Personal identification (ID) numbers — license, social security, state ID cards, passports
The concern on why you must be careful about sharing your information is because third parties are using your personal information to sell it to other companies. Data brokers, as quoted by Vice Magazine, sell your personal information to companies without your consent.
Additionally, one must also take into consideration that online databases are able to be hacked. Not that this is something that happens consistently but many companies have faced technological data breaches, exposing your personal sensitive information. Always ask yourself: Why is this information being asked from me? And what is the benefit of sharing this information with a 3rd party website? Remember that less is more. Refrain from giving more personal data than what is needed. Not to dive deeper into the subject, but avoid sharing data on clickbait messages or advertising. Clickbait is used by scammers and hackers to obtain your personal and sensitive information.
For those who are lovers of e-commerce, stay in the habit of using Paypal or other third-party financial services who can be used as a middle-man in transactions to eliminate the need of sharing your payment information at every website. Always be cognizant if the website is secure and what party is taking your payment information.
There are ways to stay safe while navigating online. PC Magazine number one tip is to keep up to date with your anti-virus system; or if you don’t have one, consider getting one. They also provide other tips to keep your online browsing experience safe.. Consider this your top protection tool out there.
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