Data Privacy Day 2018 - Respecting privacy, safeguarding data and enabling trust

Let’s face it – protecting data in our digital society isn’t easy. Devices intended to improve our lives also collect an astounding amount of information about you, your family, and friends. Voice assistant technology, connected devices, and apps that give you remote access to your home sound pretty convenient. But before you unlock your front door with your phone, think about this: in 2016, 2.2 billion data records were compromised and vulnerabilities were uncovered in products and services[1], such as baby monitors and door locks. Yikes!

Data Privacy Day highlights the importance of protecting your private information. Held on January 28 each year, Data Privacy Day is a global effort to highlight the impact technology has on our privacy.

As interconnected technology becomes more established, we can get complacent, confused, or overwhelmed. So what should we do?

Staysafeonline.org is an excellent resource. Here are just a few tips they have pulled together for Data Privacy Day 2018:

• Treat personal information like it is money. Your information has value. Make sure to consider what information is being collected through apps and websites. Delete unused apps, keep others current, and frequently review permissions.
• Share with care. Think about what you post before you post it. What does the post reveal about you? Who will see it? Take the time to review your social network friends every now and then.
• Own your online presence. Check out the privacy and security settings on websites and apps to see what information is being shared.
• Keep a clean machine. Keep all software, operating systems and apps up to date to protect data loss from infections and malware.
• Think before you app. Many apps collect ask for access to your contact list, location, microphone, etc. Make sure you know who gets this information and how it is collected through apps.  

For more information on Data Privacy Day, and for useful tips to stay safe online, visit https://staysafeonline.org/.

[1] https://www.ciodive.com/news/smart-watches-lighting-cities-is-the-iot-the-newest-weapon-of-the-cyber/505255/