The crackdown on how personal information is gathered, used and stored is becoming very real. Find out what you need to know to stay safe.
Hi my name is Jack and I'm a privacyoholic.
I applied for a flat this week. To get a chance at viewing the property - I needed to provide an internationally owned third party tool; my income, drivers license, previous five addresses, social media handles and about 90 other questions about myself.
This window into my life let's a landlord know what I'm about, sure. But, falling into the wrong hands could give attackers information to access my data and steal my identity. Fortunately, under new guidelines from the Privacy Commissioner, this should be the last time I need to give this much information away while applying for a rental property...
The crackdown on how personal information is gathered, used and stored is becoming very real.
As an individual it's now more important than ever to wise up to keeping your data safe online. As a business, the last thing you want to do is put a bad taste in a potential customer's mouth early in the process (hint hint above).
If your job or business handles people's personal information allow me to introduce your new privacy bible. The Privacy Act was updated last year and the commissioner has published an excellent cheat sheet of how you should collect, handle and use personal information. This is very easy to follow and I can't recommend it enough.
For individuals, you know the drill. There are many things you can do to protect your personal information online. However, I think the most important thing is to think carefully before sharing any information in the first place. Who is asking for it? Why do they want it?
If you want to chat, reach out. We help our clients stay within the bounds of the law and what is ethically right when it comes to their customers' personal information.
