Privacy is NOT dead. Despite statements to the contrary, your privacy is important.

Privacy is not about keeping all your information secret, and it’s not just about “cookies”. It is about retaining control over what can be done with information you choose to share, in many ways.

 But it is also a complicated issue that everyone should take time to understand, and to actually maintain your freedom.

 Some high profile people appear not to care about their privacy, and nothing bad ever seems to happen to them. And it seems like a lot of information about all of us is already out there somewhere. That doesn’t mean you should give up on trying to protect your personal information.

Photo by AbsolutVision on Unsplash

“The challenges were so quick I was able to do them in the time it took me to sip an espresso.” – IT Security Manager

MYTH: If you don’t have anything to hide, you shouldn’t worry about privacy.

One example of why this is a myth is that when you give up your right to privacy, or control over information you share, then entities, including governments, may make use of it later to put you at a disadvantage, or to discriminate against you based on that information.

 You never know what situation may arise in the future where you might be treated differently because of information you shared earlier. It has nothing to do with whether or not you have anything to hide at the moment.

 So it’s a good idea to think about what information you are sharing, where it could end up, and how it might one day be used in a way you don’t expect.

Scott Wright is CEO of Click Armor, the gamified simulation platform that helps businesses avoid breaches by engaging employees to improve their proficiency in making decisions for cyber security risk and corporate compliance. He has over 20 years of cyber security coaching experience and was creator of the Honey Stick Project for Smartphones as a demonstration in measuring human vulnerabilities.