What Exactly Is Personal Data

Personal data and personally identifiable information are two very terms you will run into very often these days. With data breaches, phising attacks and malicious software such as banking Trojans, the dangers related to keeping your personal information safe online are coming into the spotlight more and more often.

This article will take brief look at what exactly constitutes personal data. There are different minor details that deal with the subject of personal data a bit differently in different countries and in the US and the European Union. However, the basics are the same across the world.

Personal data encompasses information related to an individual that can help a third party identify the same individual. While the term "personally identifiable information" is a bit narrower under US legislation and the European Union has broadened it to include more  items under the GDPR or the General Data Protection Regulation, there is overlap in the areas where it counts.

The simplest examples of personal data are your full name, your date of birth, your home address and your passport or ID card number. All of these pieces of information will point at you, as a unique individual, when combined.

Of course, there is a much broader range of information that users may share and disclose online, when exchanging instant messages with friends or posting on forums, and this includes what car you drive, what your favorite musician is and what chewing gum flavor you like best. Those pieces of information do not fall under the definition of personally identifiable information, because even if collated together, they will not be enough to pinpoint you as a unique individual, even if someone had access to all of them.

With the ongoing pandemic and multiple cyber attacks and data leaks that involved patient records and Covid-19 test results, people are becoming increasingly aware that your medical history and existing medical records are also a piece of personal data.

We often provide websites and services with bits and pieces of our personal information, sometimes as a required part of using the service. Once this personal data is filled in on the service provider's website or app, it is out of your control and out of your hands. Of course, most websites and service providers do their best to protect your data, but sometimes this is not nearly enough, as the multiple data breaches that happen each month indicate.

Users should be always aware of when they are sharing personal data with a website or service and should do their best to minimize their personal data footprint online. Only provide the bare minimum required for the service you need to use. Always consider alternatives if you don't feel comfortable sharing all the required information with a website or a service you plan to use.

Personal information, once stolen from an online database, can be used for a surprisingly large number of malicious and criminal activities, from using your identity to spear-phish people who know you, to impersonating you online, to blackmail and draining your back account. Always be mindful of the information you share and make sure you are handing out your personal information to a reliable service provider.

May 24, 2021
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