Data & You
December 16, 2022
You know how in Encanto, “We don’t talk about Bruno”? Well, we DO talk about data! And not the beloved Star Trek character either. Data is one of those words that people throw around but don’t really understand its meaning. Your data is all of those electronic ‘things’ that follow you around. It's your browsing history on your smartphone. It's the GPS data from your fitbit. It's the photo gallery on your laptop. It's also your work product. The documents you generate as you go through your career are data.
Data in any kind of organization is hard to manage, however, data as an individual is almost impossible to manage. With today’s connectivity and the sheer number of places we visit online, managing our personal data is a full time job.
One of the key ways to protect yourself, besides using incredibly complex passwords and MFA, is to just be aware of what the website is collecting and who they’re sharing it with. This information is commonly found in the Privacy statements found at the bottom of most websites. It can also be found in that thing absolutely no one reads - the EULA or the end-user license agreement.
The other important consideration is that you have no way of deleting your information. There are European regulations surrounding the ‘Right to be Forgotten’ but those have not made it to the US just yet. This means any data you provide to a website, you lose control of. Some security conscious websites will clearly state how long they keep your data, and if they don’t, then maybe it's time to reevaluate whether you want to give them your email address.
Data Privacy tips:
- Don’t let the website store your credit card information
- Don’t create accounts unless you’re absolutely sure you want it. (Is that $5 coupon REALLY worth it?) Or set up a throwaway email account to capture those accounts.
For more personal privacy tips please visit the U.S. Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency.
UA Security Matters is a system-wide effort to increase awareness on cybersecurity topics. We wish you a happy, healthy, and secure holiday season! For more information, please visit the UA Security Matters website or email us.