On January 28, 1981, Convention 108 was signed, becoming the first international treaty that dealt with privacy and data protection, in 2009 it became recognized as National Data Privacy Day, and in 2022 it was expanded to Data Privacy Week. Today is the start of Data Privacy Week, a global effort to raise awareness of the need and ways to protect our data from nefarious cybercriminals and overeager marketers.
Modern Data Collection
Data has become a very big business, so naturally, the amount of data being collected has increased dramatically, and this data frequently includes personally identifiable information (PII) and other personal and potentially sensitive information. Commonly collected data includes names, birthdates, addresses, phone numbers, medical records, purchasing history, websites visited, activity on those sites, and more. All the data that gets collected is used to study people's behaviors and, most commonly, create and push personalized advertising at them. While some companies will "anonymize" data, that does not inherently remove the risk of a privacy breach for the people whose data was collected. Something important to note is that while data privacy is an essential element of cybersecurity, having good cybersecurity does not mean that all of your data is private.
How Do You Keep Data Private
In order to keep your data private, you first need to figure out what your privacy options are. Context is important here, as different data is required for different purposes. For example, if you are using a GPS app, you have to share your location with it for the app to function properly. However, that app shouldn't need access to your contacts. Apps and websites are some of the most common vectors for data collection, so they are the best place to start looking into your privacy options. Review the apps you have and websites you regularly visit, and check what data they request from you and what options they offer for limiting the data they collect and their access to your devices. Additionally, apps can often continue to collect data while not in use if you don't restrict them. It is a good idea to regularly review your privacy settings to ensure they haven't changed with updates; consider performing an audit of your apps and the data they collect every month or so.
Why Does Data Privacy Matter
With the amount of data that is collected, it is unfortunately common for people to simply get fed up with it all and stop caring about their data privacy. However, data privacy is more than just advertisers knowing what you are most likely to buy; they can gather a surprising amount of intimate details about people's lives and other sensitive information. Additionally, data privacy is essential for cybersecurity. The more your data is out there, the greater the chance it will be leaked to unscrupulous individuals who would abuse it, especially if that data can be used for identity fraud, spear-phishing, and other crimes. Even if you don't mind targeted ads, you still should be working to protect your sensitive data from cybercriminals, and you can do that better than data collectors will.