Privacy Risks in Data Collection and Storage

Are there any risks in the 21st century where everything is online and digital?
All of your personal data such as your social security number, medical information,
and even your address is stored away. Do you think it is truly safe? What if your data
is accidentally leaked? Or what if the wrong person discovers it? What if your family is
connected in your file? They could be in danger too. Your trust in a computer may not be as
effective. So then, how do large companies and organizations protect your personal information?


When your individual data is stored in a file or computer system, it goes into the inventory.
This private information is collected in numerous ways, like in websites and calling contractors. Many companies use strong authentication passwords to make sure that only particular people have access to confidential information. There are also laws in the workplace that prevent employees from sharing their password with each other. Many of these locations have a certain requirement of tries a password can be entered before the boss (or someone else) is notified that a potential hacker is there. Many computers have firewalls that restrict hackers from stealing private data.


You may assume that all of these precautions will keep your data safe, however your personal information is spread across many platforms. Hospitals, criminal databases, schools, your job, and many social media apps have access to everything! Nearly ⅔ (65%) of internet users say that their data has been leaked. Data breaches are happening more and more frequently since in 2023 about 3000 individuals have been doxed. For the amount of data breaches occurring, you would believe that more people would take more precautions to protect themselves, yet many individuals are desensitized to this idea. ‘What’s the worst that could happen?’. Criminals could commit dangerous crimes with your information. There are many risks with data collection and storage.


Federal Trade Commission
Data Breaches

Misuse and Protection of Computing Resources

Did you know 68% of data breaches happen with a human element?
This is called data misuse. That is when you use any information
in a way you are not supposed to.There are many laws against data
misuse, and they all differ in separate organizations and companies.
This is often connected to data theft or data breaches. Data misuse
is categorized into three different types. One could be for personal
gain, where an employee could take your information to blackmail or
exploit you. Your secrets and personal data could be in someone else's
hand. Another type of data misuse is carelessness. An individual you
trust could leak your private information on accident. This is very
dangerous if a person you don’t trust pocesses your data. Another type
is called data commingling. This is when an organization has your private
information currently, and then reuses it for another purpose. This
violates many consent laws, if the individual is not aware of the transfer.


Cyber attacks are another way your personal data can be misused. Some ways
of prevention in organizations and companies is by having Endpoint protection.
Your personal computer can lead to company networks. If these networks are in the
wrong hands, criminals can misuse this data. Endpoint protection stops the trail of data.
Believe it or not, there is a physical aspect to data breaches and having your
information stolen. Simply leaving a USB drive unattended could lead to being in evil hands.


There are many factors into data being misused, and 90% of the time, it is preventable.
As hackers are advancing so are companies and organizations. Nowadays, many computer
systems are protected with many different applications, so you don’t have to worry.
However, limiting the amount of information on you online could benefit you.
Not talking to strangers, and sharing private information like passwords to employees,
and truly trusting the people you are giving your data to is all you need to stay safe.

Data Misuse
Cyber Attacks Unauthorized Access to Information

A common threat that comes with storing all of our information online
is hacking. As silly as it may seem, hacking is a dangerous crime.
When particular details about you are leaked or blackmailed,these hackers
will have power over you. It may seem far-fetched but hackers could ruin your life.


Some ways hackers could steal data is by reaching out to employees.
Criminals can email the company asking for information, to which untrained
employees will respond. Trained and more experienced employees will recognize
fraud emails from real ones. Another simple yet effective fix to protect your
data is through unupdated programs. When your software is not up to date, you
make it easier for criminals to access data. Installing a firewall is
another effective way to preserve information, since it can block your data off.


Serious crimes have been committed through hacking. In 2013 Target received
a data breach. It affected over 40 million accounts filled with money. A
third party vendor allowed for these hackers to grasp all this data. They
installed malware on the company computers, and lost the credit score information
of all their customers! Malware, malicious software, is software developed by
cyberhackers to corrupt computers and laptops! They can also install viruses and
gain access to personal data. Target suffered a huge deal of money, due to these felons.
So big shot companies and even individual people are not safe from these dangerous hackers.

Breach Stories
Malware Benefits and Risks of Computing Innovations

We know all the negative characteristics about technology, however
there are many positive new creations that come with technology and
computing innovations. Computing innovations have helped engineers
track data down faster and more effectively. We can share our knowledge
via social media. We can communicate with people across the world. Many
individuals who struggle with making friends in person, can have many
online, and they can meet new people. Many applications such as google
and the world wide web spread much information. If you want to learn
something new, or have a simple question, asking websites like google is a very obvious answer.


However there are many negative consequences to computing innovations.
Cyber-bullying is much more severe than real life bullying since people
hide behind a screen. Also there are tons of disgusting people out there.
If you have a public social media account, then it is easier for creeps to
stock you. Many women get ‘sexted’ or when men sexually text. They could
also send and ask for pictures. Also many people are very dependent on
computing innovations. Apps like GPS help a person become way too dependent.
People are not at all able to think for themselves.


Technology is made by the intention of making life easier and improving
the way of life. However it could lead to unattended issues that could
cause more harm than good. You should remember that just because technology
is advancing, you shouldn’t get lazy. New car technology like automatic
cruise control and automatic emergency braking systems are being added
to cars to make them more convenient. That does not mean drive liturgically.
Your brain is always going to be better than any type of technology. So use it and stay safe.

Pros and Cons
Ethics