Personal data in the aspect of IT usage – the end of anonymity

Abstract

Information technologies are now a vital element of social life. Their task is to introduce people to a better tomorrow, catch up with the most developed countries, broaden horizons, and increase the standard of living. However, the rapid development of technology, access to data, and the possibility of managing it are still dependent on the human being, who determines whose data, when, and for what purpose it will be obtained and utilized. Nonetheless, indeed, all the data once found on the Internet remains there forever. Huge data banks are built based on personal data and account profiling. Besides, these banks are strongly guarded and secured with the most modern alarm systems, and only a small group of trained IT specialists has access to them. By information provided on own preferences, purchases made, applications downloaded, shared information, photos, and likes on social networks, one can specify the sexual preferences, education, political and religious views, evaluate assets, or determine the marital status of the user. Even small amounts of information shared reveal the deeply hidden interests of online account users, and the benefits of information technology are designed to share personal information while forgetting about the risks automatically.