Every day the personal information of thousands of people that is stored in the records of retail companies, healthcare providers, and even government agencies, hits the pockets of Russian criminals that will be selling it in the black market for quite a sum. According to Russian private investigators, the data market is today one of the most profitable in the underground criminal world. Of course, the online criminal industry does not take place only in Russia, but it is well known that Russia is a high risk country when it comes to online fraud and hacking.  To be safe, the next time a website or company asks for your personal data, you might want to decline or even provide false information.

Numerous cases of data breaches that have occurred during the past two years make it clear that the increasing volume of personal information that organizations are collecting is not being well kept and it is definitely not safe.  The recent events actually seem to prove that it is easier every day for hackers to discover and steal sensitive information than it was in the past. Or maybe, hackers just have a greater market for personal information today. Whichever is the case, it is obvious that the cases of data breaches have exponentially grown in the past two years and that privacy and big data are not compatible in our world today.  Information can and will be used against you.

In this context, it is natural to ask how can we protect our personal information from getting into the wrong hands? There are several considerations that we need to think prior to finding an answer for this. The first one is that the current privacy laws are not being enough to stop companies and governments from collecting such big volumes of information, and they are not enough either to make them handle it responsibly.   The fact is, the less the government and companies know about you, the smaller the amount of data is available for potential criminals and others trying to do you and your family harm.  Work to remove information that you’ve previously shared, and make a habit of paying in cash and providing companies with less information, and false information to keep safe.

Privacy laws mandate that personal information can only be collected, used, disclosed, and retained for the original purposes for which it was collected with individuals’ consent; but are we all as individuals really being asked for consent? And what happens if you deny it?  Or how do you know that the information you provided to your healthcare provider for their internal use only is not being used and combined with other data from different sources for a different purpose? Data should be retained only as long as it is needed for its original purpose, point clear. But again, there are big internet companies collecting personal data for advertising purposes, and this basically means they “will need it forever”.  So probably the first challenge will be to modify the existing regulations in this topic.

As individuals, our challenge is to stay as far as possible from Big Data, given that we have no control over what happens with personal information once it is in the hands of an organization. Minimize your online footprint by checking privacy settings on every website you use. Remember that many online criminals are dedicated to the Russian online dating scam business also, and they do collect personal information from their victims. Try to set up a separate email address for websites, companies and people you don’t know personally and share as little as possible online, especially with the people you meet in online dating sites or social media.  Provide false data when possible, and pay in cash.

In a world were privacy is now a luxury, the challenges to protect your personal information are big! Stay informed on protecting yourself and share this information with your loved ones.

C. Wright
© 2015 Russia PI™

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