Why your online data isn’t safe

Tuesday, October 9, 2018 - 19:15 in Mathematics & Economics

Until recently, the presumptive targets for massive data theft were considered to be companies that lacked sophisticated cybersecurity or didn’t take the issue seriously enough. But since late 2016, some of the biggest names in cutting-edge tech have seen their most sensitive customer data — including the content of emails, credit card numbers, and cellphone numbers — fall into the hands of hackers, or in some cases shared such data with third parties without the consumers’ knowledge or consent. The list is getting long fast. Thieves downloaded information on 25 million U.S. Uber riders. The credit reporting agency Equifax had 143 million customer files stolen by hackers. Cambridge Analytica harvested data from at least 87 million Facebook users to target with political ads. This summer, Google admitted to Congress that app developers and others have access to users’ Gmail. Data scientists found major security flaws in AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint phones that...

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