advertisement
Facebook
X
LinkedIn
WhatsApp
Reddit

With big tech watching you and your data, it’s important to be mindful says KnowBe4 Africa

Privacy, particularly while online, has becoming an increasingly important topic in recent years with a myriad sites and platforms having access to our data and habits.

It has therefore been more crucial than ever to not only have an idea of what companies have access to your data, but also the nature of said data and who they are sharing it with.

Social media platforms in particular have proved quite nefarious in this respect, explains Anna Collard, SVP for Content Strategy and evangelist at security awareness firm KnowBe4 Africa.

“Social media and messaging platforms, web browsers and mobile apps already have access to vast amounts of data about each user. You can choose not to use social media or digital tools to avoid this, but it is not very practical to do so, and would exclude you from some of the modern digital conveniences,” notes Collard.

“Even if you did so, your data would still reside in the digital realm through banking accounts, utilities, loans and more. As we saw in high profile hacks like the TransUnion breach, there is no guarantee that your information is safe with major enterprises like these either,” she warns.

To provide an idea of just how expansive the reach of these companies are when it comes to accessing your private information, Collard cites research by Clario titled the Big Brother Brands report.

It notes that brands can collect data including your name, date of birth and email address, along with even more personal information like your weight, height, pets and hobbies. Furthermore, the brands you do business with may also have access to your payment information, bank card details, purchasing history, family contacts, geographic location and movements.

KnowBe4 Africa says Meta – which owns Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and more – is the company with the most information about users, including face, environment and product recognition, contacts, voice data recognition, as well as access to your image library.

While that is concerning, Meta is not alone, with Google, Uber, TikTok, Spotify and Twitter also having access to vast amounts of data about its users, often without their knowledge.

“This data is generally gathered to make apps and services more efficient and relevant, or to tailor marketing. But in the wrong hands, this data makes people very vulnerable. Because our personal information is such a hot commodity, we need to be even more vigilant about how it could be used for identity theft, or to defraud us through phishing,” highlights Collard.

“It is important to remember that social engineering is much easier if an adversary has a great deal of background information about you: for example, you might believe your bank is calling you if they know your ID number, account number, address and other personal details. You could then be tricked into sharing your one-time PIN and have money stolen as a result,” she continues.

Given the recent regularity with which data breaches occur, it has then become imperative for users to safeguard themselves where possible should their information be exposed.

“As an individual, you need to be aware that our information is being traded not only by marketers, but also by adversaries. We cannot control a large company being hacked, or if Facebook changes its terms and conditions, but we can protect ourselves by being mindful of the fact that people could be trying to trick us by using legitimate information against us,” she advises.

On that front Collard recommends basic precautionary measures such as not using the same password across multiple accounts, not clicking on suspicious links and never sharing your One-Time Pin (OTP) or banking pin code with a caller.

Consumers should also check their credit score and credit card statements frequently to pick up potential cases of identity theft or fraud, along with the aforementioned personal cybersecurity habits.

[Image – Photo by Tobias Tullius on Unsplash]

advertisement

About Author

advertisement

Related News

Subscribe to
our newsletters

[mailpoet_form id=”1″]