Do you really believe that your personal information is safe once it makes its way onto the world wide web? According to recent research, a shocking 80% of us suspect that our online data is not secure – a statistic that one government minister is claiming is just too high.
In a survey conducted by the Information Commissioner’s Office in July 2017, more than 2,000 UK adults were asked how they felt about the companies and organisations that had access to their personal information. Surprisingly, only 20% replied that they had confidence in how that data was stored.
These findings come at an interesting time, as Minister for Digital Matt Hancock from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) gave a speech about internet security at The Sunday Times Tech Summit 2017. In it, he spoke about improving data protection laws, giving citizens more rights over how their personal data is used and stored online.
“Research shows that, currently, more than 80 percent of people feel that they do not have complete control over their data online, and that it is too high.
“So we are strengthening our data protection laws through the new Data Protection Bill, making UK law consistent with the EU’s GDPR. Under its proposal individuals will have more control over their data, through the right to be forgotten and ask for their personal data to be erased. They will also be able to ask social media channels to delete information they posted in their childhood.” – Matt Hancock: Minister for Digital, DCMS
In his speech, Hancock also spoke about phasing out opt-out tick boxes, which many users do not properly understand or acknowledge, making it simpler for individuals to withdraw consent for their personal data to be used. The Data Protection Bill would also expand the definition of ‘personal data’, broadening it to include information such as internet cookies, IP addresses and more.
Of course, the insecurity of our private data will come as no surprise to most of us, as more and more stories of hacks and leaks fill the papers every day. Luckily, with a VPN, you can take back control, protecting the information that means the most to you.