Data Privacy Detective - How Data Is Regulated, Managed, Protected, Collected, Mined, Stolen, Defended And Transcended.

Robo-calls, phishing, identity theft, ads we didn’t ask for – and worse. How does this happen? How does our personal data get collected, used and sold, without our knowing approval? Data brokers are a primary answer. They are businesses that collect, use, and sell blocks of personal information to a wide variety of buyers. This is not per se a shady business, though it may seem that way to those of us overwhelmed with constant interference by phone, email, pop-ups, and attacks aiming to disrupt our day or steal our assets or identity. Rob Shavell, CEO and co-founder of Abine, a 10-year-old privacy company, gives us a tour of data brokerage. Our personal data is collected in many ways. Some is virtually public – postal address, registered voter information, other ways in which details about us become publicly available. A lot of information about ourselves we contribute to the world – through social media posts, publicity, items we publish. There’s a tension between our instinct for privacy and the desire to