#CostaRica 🇨🇷 #APriori Reports: New CCSS Regulation Favors SMEs
On Friday, September 27, a new "Regulation for the Application of the Salary-Adjusted Base for...
In the digital age, personal data has become invaluable. Once collected, organized, and connected with other information, it transforms into a strategic resource for companies, who process and trade it on a massive scale.
As Clive Humby, a British mathematician and pioneer in data science and customer-centric business strategies, stated in 2006: "Data is the new oil." With this phrase, Humby emphasized that, like crude oil, data only gains value after it has been processed. According to IBM, more than 2.5 trillion bytes of information are generated each day, highlighting the scale of this phenomenon.
Among the personal data that companies process and trade—and even negotiate on the Dark Web—are those we rarely consider when handing them over. Some of these include full names, addresses, emails, identification numbers, location data (mobile phone or IP), cookie identifiers, mobile device advertising IDs, and medical or hospital data.
A study by Future Majority on the value of information estimated that the collection of personal data from Americans generated $76 billion in profits in 2018, with projections showing that this figure could reach $198 billion by 2022.
For this reason, it is increasingly important to be aware of the websites we visit, the information we provide, and the cookies we accept. Although reviewing and configuring these cookies may seem tedious, it is an essential step to protect our data.
Moreover, it is crucial to adopt stricter and more ethical regulations for companies that process data, ensuring that citizens have control over where and how their data is used, what information is collected, and how they can recover it. This is vital to protecting users in the digital environment.
As Dr. Eduard Blasi, professor of the postgraduate course in Data Protection at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, points out: “The reality is that in the Internet ecosystem, if we don't pay directly, we pay indirectly with our data or even with our metadata.”
For instance, according to Kaspersky and Atlas VPN, the sale of credit card data ranges between 6 and 10 euros; medical records are valued between 1 and 30 dollars; while passports, licenses, or services can cost around 25 dollars. Information such as identification numbers, full names, addresses, phone numbers, emails, and Social Security numbers is sold for as little as 0.5 to 10 dollars. These prices have dropped due to the increasing ease of stealing such information, a phenomenon some experts attribute to advancements in artificial intelligence.
In conclusion, it is our responsibility to be mindful as to where we share our data, be familiar with the regulations that protect us, and remain alert to prevent fraud or identity theft. Seeking proper advice on data protection is essential. If companies are willing to pay for your information, it is up to you to give your data the value and protection it deserves.
