For years now, the digital landscape has penetrated nearly every aspect of modern living. It’s never been easier to share information, find new music and movies, and communicate with anyone anywhere in the world.
With this abundance of access, many people still fail to adequately consider the safety of their personal data. Most are either uninformed or under informed about how their data is used, collected, shared, and even sold. On Jan. 28—Data Privacy Day—take a moment to learn more about the importance of data privacy.
About Data Privacy Day
Data Privacy Day started in 2008 in the United States and Canada as an extension of Europe’s Data Protection Day, which celebrates the 1981 signing of Convention 108, the first international treaty to address privacy and data protection.
The National Cybersecurity Alliance (NCSA) will mark the occasion by hosting a webinar on Jan. 28, 2021, that will cover topics such as privacy legislation in the U.S. and across the globe, what privacy means to the average person, and how the tech industry is shifting to accommodate changing attitudes among consumers.
Concerns About Data Privacy
According to a 2019 Pew Research report, the majority of Americans believe that their online and offline activities are being tracked by both private companies and the government with some regularity. Some key statistics include:
- Roughly 60% of Americans believe it is not possible to go through daily life without companies or the government collecting data on them.
- Approximately 80% of Americans believe they have little to no control over the data that companies or the government collects.
- Almost 80% of Americans are somewhat or very concerned about how companies use the data they collect.
- Nearly 60% of Americans have little to no understanding of what companies are doing with the data they collect.
In addition to confusion about the collection of data, a majority of Americans are not confident that companies are good stewards of the data they hold, citing major breaches and hacks as evidence that their personal data is not safe in the hands of corporations. Even so, only 22% of respondents say they “always” or “often” read a company’s privacy policy before agreeing to it.
Staying Safe Online
The National Cybersecurity Alliance offers several tips for protecting your data online:
- Enable spam/junk filters on your email accounts, and report spam to help email providers identify unwanted emails in the future.
- Beware of phishing attacks that try to solicit personal information like logins and passwords; verify the sender of any email before clicking any links or opening attachments.
- Use a credit card rather than a debit card when shopping online. Credit cards companies often offer more protection against fraud.
- Don’t click on links with enticing offers. Go directly to the vendor’s website to confirm that the offer is legitimate.
- Back up your data to a separate hard drive or cloud storage in case something happens to your personal computer.
- Enable antivirus and anti-malware software to prevent malicious programs from taking over your computer.
- Never use the same password for more than one application or website.
- Use a password manager to store your secure passwords.
Study Cybersecurity at CSU Global
If you’re passionate about the flow of information in a technology-driven world, you might be interested in a career in cybersecurity. At CSU Global, you can earn a Bachelor’s Degree or Graduate Certificate in Cybersecurity to jumpstart a new career in information security, becoming an expert on protecting data and network security. Our degree program doesn’t require previous technical background or prior experience, and you can study with the flexibility and affordability that all the rest of our online programs offer.
Take a first step toward an IT or cybersecurity career:
CSU Global offers CompTIA A+ or CompTIA Security+ exam prep courses. These six-week-long online courses are instructor-facilitated and begin Feb. 15. Each course includes practice exams and vouchers to earn these professional certificates upon successful completion of the material.
If you’re ready to take your career in cybersecurity to the next level, get started at CSU Global today!