Today is National Data Privacy Day: Protecting your Data Today and in the Future

January 28, 2020

Today is National Data Privacy Day, but what does that mean?

National Data Privacy Day was first celebrated in the U.S. and Canada in 2008 and was officially ratified on by U.S. Congress January 27, 2014 through Senate Resolution 3371. The North American Holiday was based off the European celebration of Data Protection Day, which was created to recognize Convention 108, the first legally binding international privacy and data protection treaty signed on January 28, 19811. 

Americans have many different definitions of data privacy including 28% of Americans who believe privacy means “other people and organizations not being able to access their possessions or private life” according to a November 2019 study conducted by the PEW Research Center2. 

For context, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines data as “information in digital form that can be transmitted or processed” and privacy as “freedom from unauthorized intrusion” 3,4. Based on the dictionary definition and the definition of many Americans, the data privacy of the majority of U.S. residents has been breached. In fact, 64% of Americans reported being impacted by fraudulent credit card charges, stolen information, hacked email accounts, stolen Social Security numbers, false loans, and tax fraud as of a PEW Research study conducted in 2017 and 6 out of 10 believe having their information collected is unavoidable when using the internet5,2.

Tips to Protect Data Privacy

Since this issue is incredibly prevalent not and will likely become more frequent as processes are moved to online channels, here are some of the most common ways your personal data could be compromised, avenues for a data breach you may not have thought of and ways to keep your personal data safe.

The U.S. Government recommends the following practices to keep your data safe:

  • Read the privacy policies before you agree
  • Research the ways organizations you are associated with protect your privacy
  • Search for and select opt-out options from companies you do not want to share your data
  • Create strong passwords for online accounts and update the passwords frequently
  • Use a VPN to encrypt data shared on public wifi networks
  • Stop companies from tracking your online movements by disabling cookies
  • Research privacy laws in your local district and state

While many of these tips may seem like common knowledge, especially among those with advanced understandings of technology, however they are still strong options to protect personal data.

Dr. William Butler, Chair of Capitol’s Cybersecurity Programs offered a few tips to protect against data theft and ways to react if your personal data is compromised.

“The best information I can offer to consumers comes from the FBI’s own Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) whose mission is to provide the public with reliable information on current cybercrime trends,” said Dr. Butler, who also mentioned that the IC3 provides precautions consumers can take through its public service announcements on the IC3 website. “Identity thieves steal our consumer data to fraudulently open credit card or bank accounts, apply for loans, or commit any number of crimes in your name. It can take years to clear your name and cost thousands of dollars if you are victimized.”

The IC3 suggests taking the following precautions to protect yourself:

  • Watch for phishing attempts—unsolicited email, text messages, and telephone calls purportedly from a legitimate company requesting personal, financial, and/or login credentials.
  • Watch credit card, utility bills, and bank statements for unusual transactions.
  • Enable security functions on your phone and computer—especially if you have passwords stored or apps that link to your financial institutions.
  • Never respond to unsolicited requests for your personal information, whether online, by phone, or in person.

If you think that you are victim of such a crime report it immediately on the IC3 website: https://www.ic3.gov/complaint/default.aspx/

Another easy step anyone can take to personal data is to review and understand the communications channels in which personal data is shared.

Laura Dugan, a health care communications lead working with Medicare, cautions that in the health care industry many patients and practitioners assume that protected health care information is secure simply because it is being sent from or to a government email.

 “I think there is an assumption that because someone is emailing a federal agency or health professional they can send whatever they want and not worry about it,” Dugan said. “The same security measures you use when communicating with a retailer online should be applied to anyone you email - whether it's your doctor, insurance provider, or government resource.”

Dugan further explains that IT professionals should be prepared for secure information to come through many avenues and that everyone involved with personal information, even the person the information references, should be aware of secure and unsecure channels to share information.

“The vast majority of instances of protected information being shared that I see aren't malicious. They are a nurse or caretaker reaching out with good intentions but including things like social security numbers or insurance IDs,” Dugan said. “This information could be at risk of being exposed depending on the security of the systems to which it's sent.”

 

The Future of Data Privacy

In a 2019 PEW Research study of 530 participants including technology-focused experts, titled “Themes about the next 50 years of life online,” revealed two major themes concerning the possibility for increased online data breaches.  The first theme identified as “the end of privacy” is described as a willing trade-off made by online users who relinquish privacy in favor of services such as healthcare and entertainment.

An article also published by the PEW Research center detailing the study quoted Vian Bakir, a Bangor University professor of political communication and journalism as speculating “a dysfunctional future where dataveillance reigns supreme, and where privacy (and associated freedoms) has become a distant memory,” if large companies with the primary goal to make money remains paramount without strict regulation and individual user resistance6.

The second theme revolving around data privacy, titled “Misallocated Trust,” focuses on individual users voluntarily giving too much information through internet platforms due the illusion of privacy created by being behind a keyboard and computer screen.

The article quoted Alan Mutter, a Silicon Valley CEO, cable TV executive and teacher of media economics and entrepreneurism at the University of California, Berkeley, on this theme. Mutter said, “I hope internet users in the future will have more control over their data, interactions and the content pushed to them, but I fear that the platform companies – Google, Facebook, Amazon, Baidu and others – will take us in the opposite direction. A safe and satisfying user experience requires far more thought, work and time than the average user can muster. So, we will be at the mercy of the platforms6.”

Despite the potential negatives of the internet, the majority of experts are optimistic that the future of the internet is in the hands of its users.  This means that taking steps protecting personal data, being a vigilant consumer, and reporting data breaches as they occur can not only make individual users’ future’s safer, but the future of the entire internet safer.

References:

  1. Stay Safe Online. (2019, January 28) About Data Privacy. Retrieved from https://staysafeonline.org/data-privacy-day/about-dpd/.
  2. PEW Research Center. (2019, November 14). Americans and Privacy: Concerned, Confused and  Feeling Lack of Control Over Their Personal Information. Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2019/11/15/americans-and-privacy-concerned-confused-and-feeling-lack-of-control-over-their-personal-information./
  3. Merriam Webster Dictionary. Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/data.
  4. Merriam Webster Dictionary. Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/privacy.
  5. PEW Research Center. (2017, January 26). Americans and Cybersecurity. Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2017/01/26/americans-and-cybersecurity/.
  6. PEW Research Center. (2017, October 28). Experts Optimistic About the Next 50 Years of Digital Life. Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2019/10/28/experts-optimistic-about-the-next-50-years-of-digital-life/.