The message is finally sinking in.
We’ve been warning for more than a decade about the widespread dissemination of personally identifiable information (PII) about all of us on thousands of websites, available to anyone who asks for it.
For judges and police and others in high-risk, public-facing professions, accessibility to that content is life-threatening. For everyone else, it creates exposure to identity theft scams, annoying robocalls, and phishing attacks that extort money from panicked individuals who are told that a loved one is in danger.
According to a Gartner survey, Americans are waking up. At last. These are just some of the findings:
- 70% of Americans have been a victim of cybercrime
- 84% of Americans are concerned about the security and privacy of their personal data online
- 79% of Americans say they are somewhat or very concerned about the way businesses use their personal data
- Just 26% of Americans feel they understand how their businesses use their data; 27% said they had no idea at all
- 2% of Americans don't trust businesses to use their personal data ethically
These numbers could not be more clear – most people are worried, while having no clue as to how bad the situation is already.
What Can be Done About It?
Privacy laws? Yes, they are a good start. But they are just words on paper unless they are enforced. And according to the same survey, 74% of Americans feel the government is failing to protect their personal data online, and 79% say the government is not effective in protecting personal data with privacy laws.
But laws can work – we make sure of that on behalf of our clients.
Our online privacy protection service has a 98% renewal rate – because we get results that consumers cannot achieve on their own, or that other providers cannot match.
Do you know if your state has a privacy law in place or under consideration? Visit our Privacy Laws by State page to find out more. And even where a specific law does not yet exist, Ironwall by Incogni has been able to work with data brokers and other entities to protect our clients by removing their home address and other personal information.
Now you know the numbers – the next step is yours.
