Madrid, January 28 We live in a world of data. As digital users, we make them available on a daily basis, often without being aware of the use being made of them or our rights. Every year on January 28, European Data Protection Day serves to raise awareness of its importance.
Although Internet users are increasingly aware of the importance of protecting personal data, it is not surprising to hear the phrase: “Who cares about my data?” But the reality is that they are interested and for the most varied of reasons. . .
For this reason, it is important to protect and properly manage this sensitive information, because “everything we do on the Internet leaves a trace” and our personal data “is valuable”, reminds the National Cybersecurity Institute of Spain.
If the confidentiality of our data is not protected, we run the risk of cyber criminals using it fraudulently for illegal activities.
They often trade stolen data, obtained through targeted attacks or website security breaches, on the black market and use it for illegal activities such as extortion or phishing.
Crime aside, there are many companies interested in collecting our personal data to generate targeted advertising, conduct statistical studies and create consumer profiles, warns the Internet User Safety Office in Spain.
Websites are increasingly collecting more information about us, which they later share with third party companies, which may become targeted advertising based on our interests and our recent searches, visits and purchases on the Internet.
Although more and more sophisticated monitoring methods are being developed to analyze our activity on the Internet, we are not unprotected, remember, therefore it is recommended not to accept third-party “cookies” on the websites visited, regularly deleting the browsing history, the hidden navigation or disabling geolocation to prevent websites from knowing where we are.
The best way to protect our data – he adds – is prevention, taking care of our digital identity and for this we only have to provide the personal data strictly necessary to access an online service and know what we publish on social networks.
Protecting personal information also requires that we use strong passwords to access services on the network — nothing 1234 or the cat’s name — and not use free Wi-Fi networks when sharing personal information.
Another of the recommendations is perhaps the driest for the average user and involves not accepting them mechanically and without reading the terms of use and privacy policies, even if they are long texts difficult to understand, they must be read and if you If you are not satisfied, look for an alternative service. EFE
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