Beware! You may have been "exposed" online! Remember these 9 points to protect yourself and your family!

Have you ever received a call like this? The other party immediately gave out your name, work address, home address... It was clearly the first call, but the other party already knew all your personal information.

Copyright image, no permission to reprint

If you frequently receive such calls, your personal information may have been seriously leaked. How is our personal information leaked inadvertently? How can we effectively protect the security of personal information data?

01

What is personal information data?

As a new production factor, data is as valuable as capital, technology, and productivity. However, many people have underestimated the value of data and neglected the protection of personal information for a long time. In the 2023 Two Sessions survey conducted by People's Daily Online, 68.7% of netizens voted for "Apps illegally collecting and using personal information." Once personal sensitive information is leaked, it may endanger personal and property safety, and affect personal reputation and physical and mental health.

Copyright image, no permission to reprint

It can be seen from the "Information Security Technology Personal Information Security Specification" released in March 2020 that personal information is divided into 13 categories, including: personal basic information, personal identity information, personal biometric information, network identity information, personal health and physiological information, personal education and work information, personal property information, personal communication information, contact information, personal online records, personal commonly used device information, personal location information and other information.

It is not difficult to see from the classification that personal information not only includes basic personal information such as name, contact information, property information, ID number, address, and biometric information, but also includes device information such as movement trajectory, account password, web browsing history, and transaction information, covering almost every aspect of a person's life from work to life.

These personal information are a large part of our privacy, but we often expose this data inadvertently, giving criminals an opportunity to take advantage.

02

These situations

It will also leak personal data!

The leakage of personal information is generally divided into two types: passive leakage and active leakage .

Passive leakage may be caused by a person being attacked by hackers, resulting in the leakage of stored information. This situation is relatively rare in our lives.

In our daily lives, we often inadvertently leak our personal information. For example, we share train tickets and ID photos on the Internet; fill in personal identity information and bank account information on unidentified phishing websites and malicious applications; and sometimes, when we connect to some unsafe WiFi, our personal information can be stolen.

Copyright image, no permission to reprint

Case 1: Filling in personal information on a phishing website

Payment platforms are the focus of personal information protection due to their financial attributes. At the 2023 3.15 Gala, it was revealed that criminals used scams such as "ETC card disabled" and "express lost compensation" to induce consumers to log in to phishing websites to commit fraud. The name, ID number, mobile phone number, bank account and other information filled in by consumers on the phishing website are automatically recorded by the system and used by criminals .

Copyright image, no permission to reprint

Case 2: Some apps expose personal contact information

In June 2021, a travel app was notified by the Cyberspace Administration of China to remove the relevant app and fined 8.026 billion yuan due to serious illegal and irregular collection and use of personal information. Travel and food delivery apps have become the hardest hit areas for personal information leakage due to their high frequency of use. Previously, some travel and food delivery apps illegally collected personal information, and some drivers and deliverymen would use the phone numbers reserved by customers on the platform to harass customers by phone.

Copyright image, no permission to reprint

However, as most platforms have implemented virtual numbers instead of real numbers, this type of problem has been improved to a certain extent .

However, there are still some apps from unknown sources that steal personal contact information. So when you encounter mobile apps from unknown sources, please carefully choose whether to fill in your personal information.

Case 3: Posting personal information such as online shopping packages and online car-hailing trips

Online shopping is gradually changing people's shopping habits due to its convenience and affordability. However, express parcels that record consumers' personal information such as name, phone number, and address can easily become the source of consumer personal information leakage if they are not carefully handled. Shopping fraudsters pretend to be customer service to call or send false text messages to users in the name of express return and refund, cancellation and refund of deposit, etc., to induce customers to provide important personal information such as bank cards and mobile phone numbers, and then steal the funds in the cards .

Copyright image, no permission to reprint

Case 4: Facial recognition authentication when shopping or buying a house

Previously, a piece of news about "wearing a helmet to buy a house" caused heated discussions. The reason for wearing a helmet is to protect personal information. At present, many real estate sales departments have installed facial recognition systems, and a real estate project has even launched a discount for first-time home buyers. Therefore, some consumers choose to wear helmets to view houses to avoid being photographed by facial recognition systems. Recently, facial payment , which has become popular in many supermarkets, will expose customers to facial recognition equipment without any precautions, which may infringe on the personal biometric information security of customers .

03

The harm caused by personal information leakage

Once personal information is leaked, it may be used by criminals to cause harm to individuals.

1. Personal dignity is violated

For example, the disclosure of personal information such as a person's race, ethnicity, political views, sexual orientation, disease, or the illegal use of such personal information may cause the individual to suffer discrimination or unfair treatment.

2. The personal and property safety of natural persons is endangered

The leakage of a person’s whereabouts may lead to the criminals knowing about it and causing the victim to be killed; the leakage of bank account information may lead to the theft of bank funds, etc.

Copyright image, no permission to reprint

04

The country is stepping up its efforts

Protecting personal information

In fact, the country has always been committed to protecting the security of personal information. In 2019, the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission required App operators not to collect personal information that is not related to the services provided when using personal information; the information collection and use rules should be displayed in an easy-to-understand manner, and the personal information subject should voluntarily choose to agree; when collecting and using personal information, Apps are required to adopt updated privacy policies and other collection and use rules, and remind users to read the changed terms through push messages, emails, pop-ups, red dot prompts, etc., and obtain user consent again.

Copyright image, no permission to reprint

The Personal Information Protection Law, which was implemented in November 2021, clarifies the definition of personal information, regulates the entire process of personal information collection, storage, use, processing, transmission, provision, disclosure, deletion and other processing activities, and sets special personal information protection obligations for large Internet platforms. The Personal Information Protection Law, together with the National Security Law, the Cybersecurity Law, the Civil Code and the Data Security Law, has built a legal dam for personal information protection.

05

Personal information data security precautions

As individuals, we are the first responsible person for our own information security, and we must learn to "lock" our own information security. We can protect the security of our personal information data in the following ways:

1. Improve awareness of prevention , learn to protect personal information, and know more about prevention knowledge.

2. It is best to go to large shopping websites for online shopping. Do not install software from unknown sources . Apps should be downloaded through official channels. Do not easily receive and install unknown software, and do not click on links sent by the other party in the chat.

3. Do not participate in online activities where you can get gifts by registering your information . Avoid participating in raffles, guessing games, promotions and gift-giving activities online or on the streets that require you to fill in your real identity, mobile phone number and other personal information.

4. You should try to set a high-security payment password . When making online payments, you should carefully fill in your bank account and password and beware of phishing websites.

Copyright image, no permission to reprint

5. When registering, try not to write too much personal information , and properly keep and handle documents containing personal information, such as express delivery notes, train tickets, plane tickets, insurance policies, etc.

6. Try not to expose your real identity, home address, work address, children's situation and other information on the Internet through videos, photos, text, etc. , and do not add unidentified friends.

7. Try not to use free wireless networks that do not require a password in public places, turn off the WiFi automatic connection function in the network settings, and use data as much as possible to ensure network security.

8. Do not discard or sell mobile phones that contain personal information without processing. Before changing your mobile phone number, remember to clear the contact information on the card and unbind the bound bank card.

9. If the leakage of personal information causes some adverse consequences, you should be careful to retain relevant evidence and report to the public security organs in time .

Paying attention to the protection of personal information and strengthening awareness of prevention are the most responsible attitudes towards yourself and your family.

Author: Jin Fenyang, Master of Management from Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Senior Management Consultant of Guangdong Telecommunications Planning and Design Institute

Reviewer: Yu Yang, Head of Tencent Xuanwu Lab

The cover image and the images in this article are from the copyright library

Reproduction of image content is not authorized