Introduction
Harvard professor Shoshana Zuboff published her book “The Age of Surveillance Capitalism” in 2018. In it, she breaks down how modern capitalism has allowed corporations to colonialize more than other territories—they have begun attempting to colonialize consumers’ minds, and a major step towards doing this is collecting data on consumers and tracking their every move ala Google and Amazon.
Targeted ads and personalized recommendations are just the beginning of what surveillance capitalism will do. But that’s not all. With so much data being collected, it’s only a matter of time before one of these corporations slips up and lets data fall into the wrong hands. It’s happened before, and it will happen again.
If your data falls into the wrong hands—say, the hands of a cybercriminal—your identity will be at risk. Your finances—at risk. And while there’s not much you can do as an individual to stop corporations from collecting your data on such a wide-scale (besides political activism), there are a few ways to prevent your data from being collected.
5 Tips to Better Your Security and Ensure Your Privacy
1. Encrypt Your Network
Encryption is everything. When you encrypt your data, you’re making it all unreadable, unobtainable to the everyday cybercriminal. Even cybercriminals using state-of-the-art technology will have a difficult time intercepting and cracking encrypted data. That said, how does one encrypt their data?
There are multiple ways, from encrypting your storage drives via full-disk encryption to using a password manager to encrypt your passwords. However, there is one method of encryption you should focus on: encrypting the data your device(s) sends out.
ISPs and governments thrive off logged data they get from observing your Internet activity. If you use a VPN, a Virtual Private Network, however, third-parties are unable to collect your data due to the level of encryption and anonymity it provides.
2. Limit Who can View Your Social Media/Don’t Overshare
According to a 2017 study, 70% of employers look at job candidates’ social media profiles in order to determine whether they would be a good fit. This may seem reasonable on the surface, but many feel this is a violation of privacy, as what someone does in their personal time should not determine their eligibility for a job.
But job eligibility isn’t the only thing at risk when it comes to having a public social media profile. Companies can use your social media profile to create personalized ads, and in Facebook’s case, the social media platform itself will track your browser activity.
However, it’s near impossible to completely avoid using social media—at least if you want to stay in touch with friends. When using social media, make sure you’re not oversharing personal information; you know, things like addresses, personally-identifiable information, financial information, and vice versa. And, if you want to stay extra safe, set your accounts to private so strangers can’t look at your profile.
3. Enable Incognito Mode
There are plenty of misconceptions about what incognito mode does, perhaps the biggest misconception being that your data is safe from companies, governments, and ISPs. Incognito mode does little to protect your data from these parties. However, that’s not to say that incognito mode isn’t useful.
Incognito mode was created for one reason: to disable the storing of “cookies,” bits of data that your browser collects. Cookies differ by data, but they usually contain browsing data, online activity, passwords, logins, and browsing history.
Incognito disables cookies, and while this may not prevent your ISP from collecting your browsing activity, it does help limit the amount of private data stored on your device. In other words, if you share your device with someone else, incognito mode will go a long way in keeping your data secure.
4. Use Encrypted Messaging Services
Modern SMS messaging is anything but secure. Default messaging apps lack end-to-end encryption, exposing your messages to any hacker that manages to intercept your messaging data. If you want to secure your messages, you and your contacts need to download an encrypted messaging app (Signal, for example).
Certain messaging apps that promise encryption aren’t that secure. Take, for example, WhatsApp’s close ties to social media conglomerate Facebook. However, apps like Signal are great for encrypting the messages you send to others.
5. Be Careful of What You Download
Lastly, the golden rule of Internet browsing: don’t click on everything you see. There are plenty of cybercriminals who send spam emails, implement fake links, and create fake sites, all to trick unsuspecting internet users into downloading a thing of malware onto their device.
One wrong click on a suspicious link and your personal information could fall into the hands of a cybercriminal across the world. Be vigilant. Be careful of what websites you visit, what links you click, and what programs you download.
Conclusion
Surveillance capitalism is the future that many countries are heading in. As an individual, it’s important you do everything in your power to resist—to keep your data from falling into the hands of corporations and governments. With these five tips, you can get started and prepare!