Shared Data

Information shared has double since the creation of the world wide
web, computers and smartphones. In recent times, there are so many networks and
systems connected to the internet and sharing data between each other. Some of
the data shared are encrypted, such that only the person authorized to view the
data can have access to it, while other data are not encrypted, which creates a
loophole for hackers to the information individuals send. This occurred when
there was a huge intrusion into Equifax customer details. There was an
unauthorized activity on the network that impacted personal information
relating to 143 million US customers, social security numbers, birth dates,
address and driver’s license. [1]

There
are numerous information being shared every minute, majority of people in the
world use Facebook every day to catch up with our friends, post activities of our
day, or listen to the news, then sometimes they are likely to visit Amazon to buy an items of their interest, or sign-up for an online saving account because they
offer the best APY. Individuals do all these things without ever thinking that
their information could be hacked or shared to other third-party companies to
use their personal information in targeting an ad towards them or convince them
to vote for a person during an election. Early this year, the whole was taken
by shock when they found out about how Facebook shared personal information,
likes, and post to Cambridge Analytica. Cambridge Analytica analyzed this
information and categorized them into –
psychographics and demographics. [2] Another instance was the election [https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/russia-trump-and-2016-us-election interference
carried out by Russia], spreading fake news on Facebook about different
political parties. All this news, led to the stock of Facebook to drop by 8%,
and other companies as well as individuals to delete their Facebook accounts.
 Though this might have been a good move, it is a useless move as majority
leave their data footprint everywhere – apps,
websites, smart watches etc.

Large
companies such as; Facebook. Google, Snapchat, Amazon, etc, hold so much data
about us. In some cases, they can predict our next action. For example, Samsung
can predict the time when someone wakes up and when the person goes to sleep.
The algorithms these companies are developing are getting better at predicting
an individual or suggesting an ad to you that would cause you to click.
Facebook owns WhatsApp, a popular communication app, and Instagram, which is
identical to Facebook but with a different UI (user interface). Google knows
what people search for on the internet, where they live, their jogging routes,
favorite restaurants, and office or school location. Google tracks location to
suggest a shop or restaurant nearby. People have had an experience of my their
own and sometimes scares them initially. For example, majority book a ticket
using their gadgets and upon arriving at the airport, Google directs them
towards their departure gate and every other information.  Snapchat knows
the best ad to target its users with, so they make some purchases especially
trending products. Amazon has information about people, for instance, their
address, credit card number and in some rare cases social security number.
Sadly, there is no way of stopping these companies from getting information,
unless they permanently move to a location that has no connection to the
internet.

To conclude, everyone should be
worried about the data these companies hold about us. If not protected
properly, they could be stolen by hackers who constantly try to breach into
their databases where our information is stored. Or our data can be used by
this companies to make more profit. If there is a limit of the amount of
information majority share online, it would help in reducing one’s own privacy.

## References

1. https://investor.equifax.com/news-and-events/news/2017/09-15-2017-224018832
2. https://www.fastcompany.com/40550423/how-facebook-blew-it