The data trail you leave behind whenever you’re online is bigger, and more revealing, than you may think. It’s data privacy day this Saturday. Or if you’re based in Europe, then it would be data protection day for you. The day serves as a reminder of the importance of protecting personal information and the potential consequences of its misuse. In the article on we-live-security by Tony Anscombe, he talks about how companies can use technology to make intelligent deductions about our preferences based on the snippet of information we openly disclose. The example he provided is using a GPS map app to find a restaurant that specialises in a certain cuisine. Using that information, the search provider can ascertain that you eat out, what day of the week you eat out, possibly how frequent, how far you are prepared to travel, possible food preference and time of day you eat. All this from the snippet of data which is just the name of the restaurant. Data privacy day is a reminder of the ongoing need to prioritise data privacy in the digital age. So this data privacy day, take some time to understand the importance of the personal information your data trail is leaving behind and the value it holds. For me, I’ll be reviewing the privacy settings on my mobile apps and website to better understand what data I’m sharing. I recommend everybody to do the same.
https://www.welivesecurity.com/2023/01/26/data-more-valuable-you-realize/
https://www.coe.int/en/web/portal/28-january-data-protection-day
This segment was created for the It’s 5:05 podcast