Millions of apps & Sites require users to open an account in order to use their services. Login accounts allow applications to provide a personalized experience for their users & without said session or cookie controlled accounts many of the services we take for granted, just would not be possible. But how many of these services ensure that user data is encrypted sufficiently for your data to remain safe from hackers?
Almost daily there are news reports detailing the shoddy coding employed by trusted applications, where user data is stored in plain text without any regard for users’ security. Passwords should be encrypted using a “one way” encryption format(cannot be decrypted), while other data, such as email addresses or phone numbers, should be stored using a light encryption protocol, such as Base64 encoding.
However, one just has to peruse the headlines to find instances of companies that fail to give even the slightest nod to user safety. For instance, as recently as last month 7 well-used free VPN services were hacked, they stored 1.2TB of data, including 1,083,997,361 records of email addresses, clear text passwords, IP addresses, home addresses, phone models, device ID, & other technical information belonging to over 20 million users in plain text on their servers, needless to say their unencrypted data was stolen, causing untold stress for their clients.
This startup “ID Strong” has the solution to this vexed problem. Its service promises to monitor credit bureaus, black-market Websites, chat rooms, social feeds, public records & millions of data points in order to detect if your personal & financial information is found, if it’s being bought, sold, or traded Online. On its Website, ID Strong details a running list of data breach statistics that number over 12bn & that’s just the “big-name” scandals.
ID Strong’s service offers to monitor your email, passport, ID number, mobile number, address, driver’s license & credit card exposure Online (among other factors, depending on the service you select). The startup offers an initial scan free of charge, but its paid services offer to alert you, instantly, if your details appear in their search stats. So if you’re concerned about your privacy status, checkout ID Stong’s website for further details.
Image credit: ID Strong
