dgme102-misuseofinfo-team4

[dgme102-misuseofinfo-team4]

There’s No Excuse for Computer Misuse!

Team 4

Our group topic is misuse of personal information. Data misuse occurs when individuals or organizations use personal data beyond those stated intentions. Often, data misuse isn't the result of direct company action but rather the missteps of an individual or even a third-party partner. Due to the rise of social media and sites gathering information on their users, this has resulted in a lot of data being exposed to the public which shouldn’t have been broadcasted in the first place. The misuse of information is wrong because it could lead to the downfall of a person as well as a business.

[dgme102-misuseofinfo-team4]

What Is The Misuse Of Personal Information?

As companies and individuals continue to depend on computer software to store personal information (data) for business or personal purposes, it could lead to data misuse if it is not protected correctly. There are many ways personal information can be misused. Such as an insider who steals personal information to sell, an outsider who uses 3rd party websites to hack your information and lost or stolen devices. 

 The misuse of personal data can also lead to data breach. This can ruin a businesses reputation. This allows hackers to have access to your personal information, your financial institution, medical records and other confidential information that is stored. The fastest way hackers are able to gain access to your information is through email phishing and smishing (SMS Text). 

There is no one security tool or control that can prevent data breaches entirely but we can prevent it from happening. If businesses practice better security and safety measures such as, creating stronger passwords, installing anti software, anti spyware, firewall and backing up your data. This can help protect everyones personal information.

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Protecting Your Personal Information

Protecting your personal information is very important. All it takes for a hacker to do is find your basic information and  that can lead to identity fraud, your financial institution, medical records and so forth. For instance, your basic information as in your; name, social security, address, emails and phone number is all a hacker needs to cause damage.

Here are ways to protect your personal information from misuse: 

Antivirus software/Anti-Spyware/Use a firewall

Purchasing Antivirus Software, Anti-Spyware such as; Norton, McAfee, Kaspersky and many others will help protect your devices from viruses that can damage your data, slows down or crashes your devices. This also protects spammers who sends phishing emails to your account. Antivirus also scans your files and incoming emails for viruses and deletes anything it thinks is dangerous. 

Using a firewall is a security device in the form of computer hardware or software. It can help protect your network by acting as an intermediary between your internal network and outside traffic. It monitors attempts to gain access to your operating system and blocks unwanted incoming traffic and unrecognized sources

 Passwords

Your passwords should always be strong and complex making it difficult for hackers. 

Using strong complex passwords and changing them often

DO NOT share your passwords, and do not write passwords down

NEVER save passwords on your device

Password-protect - When password protect is enabled, it gives users a prompt for username or password before they’re given access

Data Back Up

Backup is important for data protection. A regular data backup preferably daily or weekly saves your important files from data loss situations due to common events such as system crash, malware infection, hard drive corruption and failure, etc. Use a hard drive to back up your data.

Tips: 

Check your financial transactions regularly

Be careful about online shopping 

Use your own computer and not a public computer

Be careful about downloading the software or apps

Secure your confidential documents

[dgme102-misuseofinfo-team4]

Dangers of data Breach...

Data breach is when someone hacks into your systems and steals personal information and uses it for its own personal use. Data breach often occurs when there’s weakness of credentials such as; weak username and passwords, bruce force attack, phishing, malware attacks, payment card fraud, third party access and mobile devices. 

Some of the main reason data breach occurs are: 

Accidental insider: someone who accidentally read your files online at work and because its personal data it is considered breach. 

A Malicious Insider:  This person has access to the data but decides to use it for criminal or evil purposes to harm an individual or a company. 

Lost or Stolen Devices: An unlocked laptop or hard drive that has been stolen 

Malicious Outside Criminals: 3rd party criminals who attack vectors to gather information from a network or an individual. 

According to Security Magazine, “Year-over-year results indicate a fast start to data breaches in 2022 after a record-setting 2021, as more than 90% of data breaches are cyberattack-related, the Identity Theft Resource Center found.” 

Data theft affects thousands of people every day. It can happen to anyone. New technologies are being created faster than we can protect them. 

The most common cause of data breach is Phishing and Related attacks.

Phishing along with Smishing (SMS Messages) is the number one issue with data leak according to, “Dark Readings” by: Edge Editors. 

Phishing is fake emails sent by the hacker pretending to be someone who they aren’t and seeking personal information using emails. Smishing which is the fastest growing hack at the moment is when you get fake text messages asking you too logon to their site so they gain access to your bank accounts and other information. 

[dgme102-misuseofinfo-team4]

What Laws Protect CA Residents From Misuse of Personal Information?

              California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)

The State of California adjusted the (CCPA) California Consumer Privacy Act to protect residents in California to be informed of how their personal data is being used. It lets the end user understand how to take full advantage of the privacy protection built into the new law.  

California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)  According to the State of California Department of Justice, The California Consumer Privacy Act of 2020 (CCPA) gives consumers more control over the personal information that businesses collect about them and the CCPA regulations provide guidance on how to implement the law. This landmark law secures new privacy rights for California consumers, including: 

 1. The right to know: You are able to request that business disclose to you what personal information they have collected, used, shared or sold about you, why they collected, used shared or sold that information. Businesses must provide you this information for the 12-month period preceding your request. They must provide this information free to you free of charge. 

2. The right to delete: We can request businesses to delete personal information they collected from you and to tell their services providers to do the same. But there are many exceptions that can allow businesses to keep your personal information 

 3. The right to opt-out: You may request that businesses stop selling your personal information (“opt-out”). With some expectations, businesses cannot sell your personal information after they receive your opt- out request unless you later provide authorization allowing them to do so again. 

 4. Right to non-discrimination: Businesses cannot deny goods or services, charge you a different price, or provide a different level or quality of goods or services just because you exercised your rights under the CCPA.

Perks of Living in California 

California residents have been able to have more rights over their data than any other state in the U.S. All internet companies, such as Google, Facebook and Amazon, collect data on their users. Although our rights are some what limited, this is a great opportunity for CA residences to know how our personal data is being used. 

[dgme102-misuseofinfo-team4]

In Conclusion

Hackers are getting smarter every day and security should be the number one priority for businesses and individuals. Information that may be stored in multiple computers, databases or external drives need to be secured. Although some employees have access to personal information, they are able to adjust it, and share it amongst themselves with customers or clients. With that comes great threats which causes breaches and misuses. Any data that has been exposed to the outside world will cause many businesses to destroy their reputation. It is very important that saving data in appropriate places and securing it should be a priority. Your personal information is a gateway to your financial institution, credit score medical records and personal information. Here are few ways to protect your identity from hackers; Avoid Create strong passwords, don’t share your private information, avoid phishing emails, limit your sharing on social media, check your mobile app permissions, review your security and privacy settings, use Antivirus and software and install the latest software patches.  

Bibliography

Bonta, Rob. “ California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).” State of California Department of Justice, 2022, https://oag.ca.gov/privacy/ccpa.

“The Dangers Of a Data Breach.” YouTube, Kaspersky, 12 December 2017, www.youtube.com/https://youtu.be/0kK902-ZvNM