Is that my picture? A Closer Look to Online Privacy
Our privacy is not what it used to be. I remember back in
the day when we were so careful about the things we’d share online; now it’s
hard to keep our information safeguarded.
The huge amounts of data provided every day by online users,
the tools to mine these data and the eagerness for companies to buy/sell online
data, have changed the way users interact with the internet and the way companies
try to lure online users to share as much as they can about their customer’s lives
[1].
Let’s take a look at how the Digital Analytics Association
encourages digital analysts to provide privacy, transparency, control,
education and accountability.
Digital Analytics Data Protection
The Digital Analytics Association (DAA) defines in its code
of ethics, five points to guarantee that the Digital Analyst will provide a
great job at protecting the data [2].
Privacy
The analyst agrees to hold consumer data in the highest
regard and will do everything in his/her power to keep personally identifiable
consumer data safe, secure and private.
Transparency
The analyst agrees to encourage full disclosure of
clients/employer consumer data collection practices and to encourage
communication of how that data will be used in clear and understandable language.
It’s important to keep the company’s privacy policy up-to-date, just so the
analyst can provide a clear and truthful reflection of the data collection.
Consumer Control
The analyst agrees to inform and empower consumers to opt
out of his/her clients/employer data collection practices and to document ways
to do this.
The consumer control option gives the consumers the ability
to opt out, making sure that they are removed from the data collection when
requested.
Education
The analyst agrees to educate his/her clients/employer about
the types of data collected, and the potential risks to consumers associated
with those data.
This one encourages analysts to inform peers of the
commitment to data privacy and the education of senior management, of current
data collection capabilities, data definitions, and potential data risks.
Accountability
The digital analyst agrees to act as a steward of customer
data and to uphold the consumers’ right to privacy as governed by my
clients/employer and applicable laws and regulations.
This one makes the analyst accountable for use and misuse of
the data collected. It encourages the analyst to comply with all practices
governing ethical use of consumer data.
While the analytics' world serves the purpose to tailor data
based on a given company needs, it can also provide nightmares to online users
if this information is not safe.
A Living Nightmare
In 2012, hackers gained access to Wired.com Senior writer
Mat Honan’s “complete digital life in the span of an hour” [3]. Everything
happened because of a tool, widely used by hackers, called social engineering
[4]. The hackers were able to gained access to his Gmail, Twitter and Apple
accounts; in the process, his mobile devices were wiped out losing all of Mat’s
documents, messages, emails and pictures.
Stories like Mat’s are very common nowadays. I’m terrified
every time my friends share status in Facebook and their profile has been set
to public. I also get concerned when my family members tell me that they
haven’t changed their passwords in years.
We are exposed to online data every day. It’s our duty to prevent
hacker attacks by following simple rules like frequently changing passwords,
making sure our online profiles for the different social media networks [5] is not
set to public, clearing web browser cookies, and staying away from harmful
websites.
The Bottom Line
Digital analytics can be intimidating to online users
because of the tactics and tools used to mine, extract, transform and load the
data collected. It can also be intimidating because errors in the process and
the lack of privacy from different companies could expose holes that can be
exploited by hackers.
Digital analytics provide awesome tools to optimize the efforts
to drive business results. It’s our responsibility as online users, to keep our
personal information away from hackers to avoid headaches. It’s also the data company’s
responsibility to make sure our data is kept safe.
What are some of the things you do to keep your personal information
secured?
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