Do you live in California? Is your company based there? Lucky you. You not only get to enjoy great weather and great beaches and Disneyland – you also get to protect your personally identifiable information (PII) from being shared or sold by data brokers.
So why aren’t more of you doing something about that?
Right now, California gives you the right to contact companies like Experian and tell them you want to take control of your personal information. But according to an article by Consumer Watchdog, just 1% of the state’s residents have contacted the largest data brokers with that request. Despite the fact that National Public Data was hacked earlier this year, exposing 2.7 billion pieces of private information, including social security numbers.
No, It’s Not Easy – But It Will Be
Beginning in 2026, Californians will be able to delete all the data a broker collects about them in one step, under Senate Bill 362 (The Delete Act), signed last year.
Doing that now is not easy – considering there are more than 500 data brokers in California alone, and thousands more that have access to the data collected on state residents.
For judges and police and those in other at-risk professions, that represents a clear and present danger. All it takes is one malicious search for the home address of a judge or police officer to trigger a tragedy.
That’s why so many courts and law enforcement organizations are Ironwall by Incogni clients. We do the searches for this content and compel its removal, not just with data brokers but everywhere it could be found online by a search engine.
This service is also proving increasingly valuable to healthcare and financial services organizations, which are dealing with skyrocketing numbers of phishing and ransomware attacks. Hackers are finding personal information about their personnel online, and weaponizing it in emails that look authentic but deliver a ransomware payload. We cut off the hackers’ supply of that personal content, forcing them to look elsewhere for their next victim.
Why You Shouldn’t Wait
2026 is a long way away. That’s when you’ll be able to exercise your opt-out rights with all data brokers in one simple step. Until then, the danger persists. You, your family, and your company or organization are vulnerable to a myriad of threats by having your PII easily accessible to anyone who asks.
And while the one click opt-out will be great for data brokers, it will only cover about 40% of the online locations where personally identifying information can be found.
To be absolutely certain that your home address, your privacy, and that of your family and your organization’s personnel is being safeguarded 24/7, contact us and let’s get serious about keeping you safe.
