Your Identity

Your Identity

     Over the past few months there have been literally hundreds of millions of user accounts compromised across many large sites and services from Twitter to UTorrent.

Each time your personal information ends up in jeopardy and on an auction block in the DARK WEB.

     I am starting to wonder why we even bother. As it stands we know our personal information is not safe as the last year has demonstrated. What should we do. How much money is the criminal element making off of your life.

     I am starting to think I may as well sell my own personal information in order to put the profits in my own damn pocket. What recourse is there when you lose this sensitive information. What do we get when this happens besides a password reset and an apology. 

     

     Now let me ask this. How many people just decide they have had enough with certain sites and the lack of security so they close there account. Do you really think they remove your account information thus putting your identities security back into your own hands. Or do they hold it close until the end of time? What if when you close your account you want all your data completely purged do you get this choice. I am guessing no to all the above questions.

     So if my assumptions are right on the above that once your in there systems your now permanently forced to trust they wont lapse in security. One thing is clear is the need to improve the protection of people who are signing up to online sites and services. What this protection is remains a challenge as many of these sites could be in different countries in the world. This is evident in the lack of effect the Anti-Spam laws introduced in Canada were. Foreign entities just do not have to play by our rules.

     I guess if I was to pick a starting point for how I would shape the future of online protection for the people it would be as follows. I would mandate sites must identify the countries there servers will live in. Giving users an opportunity to make an informed decision on if they want to put there personal information in an environment that is not in a country with strict cyber protection rules in place. 

     The second part is the ability to have a user submit a request to close there account and the site/service hosting this would have a window of time in which to remove ALL personal data for this user. Sure if they want they can provide an option for people to opt out of this purging though i cannot imagine anybody wanting to.

     One thing is clear through all of the breaches is that doing nothing just is not an option anymore. You have one identity unless your a super spy and should have the right to protect it. There needs to be an international body that can help create a set of rules and policies that all countries should follow and publicly identify those who do not.  The future is coming fast and our policies are just not adapting quick enough. 

As always do not be afraid to challenge your mind!