By 2025, the world will create 163 zettabytes of data — nearly 55 gigabytes of new data every single day per person. In just under a decade, this information explosion could be more personal than we realize. Today, Google already handles over 3.5 billion searches on a daily basis and it may be surprising how much of that data accounts for our own information.
Half of Americans believe that their personal information online is less secure than it was just five years ago — and yet we are sharing more information about ourselves than ever. Social media sites like Facebook and Instagram make it easy to overshare, a bad habit most of us have fallen into at least once. Aside from the TMI factor, oversharing can lead to more sinister outcomes; namely the smart scammers that know how to put two and two together to build a multi-platform profile for potential victims. Once the pieces are in place, scammers can strike us where it hurts the most, hitting our vulnerable and naive points from phishing to catfishing.
Do you know what kind of information about yourself is floating around out there? Much of it could be just a Google search away. Take a look at this infographic for more on data management online, how to keep your information secure, and out of the wrong hands.