People interact with more organizations and companies online today than ever before. Many of these organizations collect personal information to help them improve their operations or to build an outside revenue stream. These business-first initiatives can put individual data at risk. Today, we’ll discuss what you need to know about data privacy.

What is Data Privacy and Why is It Important?

Data privacy is about ensuring that individuals have control over their personal information and how it is collected, used, and shared. It involves protecting this information from unauthorized access or disclosure. Keeping this data private is crucial because vast amounts of personal data are constantly being collected and processed and sold. Without proper protections in place, people can be exposed in all sorts of ways. 

What Kind Personal Data is Collected?

Here are some examples of the type of data that is collected across websites, companies, services, and other organizations:

• Identity - Includes your name, date of birth, gender, Social Security number, driver's license number, passport number, and other similar identifiers.
• Contact Info - Includes your address, email address, phone number, and other contact details.
• Financial - Includes your bank account details, credit card numbers, income, credit history, and other financial data.
• Health - Includes your medical history, health insurance information, genetic data, biometric data (like fingerprints or facial recognition), and other health-related data.
• Online Activity - Includes your browsing history, search queries, IP address, location data, cookies, and other data related to your online behavior.
• Commercial - Includes records of products or services you have purchased, your purchase history, and other commercial data.
• Demographics - Includes your age, race, ethnicity, religion, marital status, and other demographic data.
• Professional - This includes your employment history, education, job title, and other professional data.

That’s a lot of data; some of which you may not even be cognizant of. 

How Do Organizations Use This Data?

Many of the organizations people interact with will be transparent about the way they use their data. Typical uses help build customer profiles that can fuel their sales and marketing, customization of services, and more. Unfortunately, some of these organizations can misuse data too. This includes using data they don’t have consent to use, not properly protecting the data they collect, and even tracking and surveilling people without their knowledge. 

How Can I Protect My Personal Data and Stay Safe Online?

Three of the best ways to protect your personal data against potential misuse include creating complex and unique passwords for every account, enabling two-factor authentication on every account that has it available, and being protective of your personal data by not oversharing while online. The more you are aware of how valuable your data can be, the more apt you are to take steps to properly protect it.

At First Column IT, we take data privacy very seriously. If you would like to learn more about ways we can help you protect your organizational data and keep your network and infrastructure secure, give us a call today at (571) 470-5594. 

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