Cybersecurity is not a new concept. Although its importance can be seen in companies, there’s not much information about how companies use consumers’ personal information. Many companies have taken advantage of users not reading the fine print. The fine print has the information regarding the companies terms and privacy conditions. There are not many people who read the terms and conditions and privacy policy because of its lengthy reading.

There are many issues surrounding the ethical issue of storing individuals’ information. However, not all will be covered because of their straightforwardness and more complex subject. Although, here are some that are more common. Websites will be used as an example because it is prominent when dealing with information.

1. Data Usage

Websites, like Google, uses users information to better improve the communication and service between two parties. The benefit that users get is convinience and personalization in using a company application. The company benefits from users by attaining their personal information and improving their system. However, the problem lies after their usage of improving their data. The user does not know where the information is going. They only know the benefits that the company bring and not the con of companies.

2. Data Deletion

A user wants to delete their account on a company and they proceed to follow the procedure to delete their account. The user thinks that they delete their account but does the account gets deleted? The user would have no idea whether their account is deleted or not because it’s easy to trick people online. Learning full-stack development gives one idea about the potential of making an application. A single column on the database can give user false sense of peace when deleting their account. In which the company offers a feature that helps user have an account recovery. The problem lies in which the user believe in what they see but, in the online world, anything can be believeable if not properly inspected.

3. Data Selling

Companies, in order to make a revenue, place advertisements in their websites which is often run by a third party. The third party uses information to advertise users things that they might like. It happens through websites cookies. Cookies are just identification of users when they visit a website so often they get personalized ads. It’s ok to block cookies but some websites uses cookies as a way to keep a user logged in throughout their website. The data sell for a good prize for companies and good investment for companies who offers products that user likes.

4. Data Breach

Consumers do not know when companies have a breach in their system. The only time when consumers know when a company has a breach is when newscasters report information regarding the data breach. However, it is sometimes not immediate. The problem with data breach is that companies has to decide whether to let the breach happen in order to gain proof and/or location of the threat agent or prioritize the user’s information by shutting down the server. There are many factors regarding explotations and vulnerabilities that can happen in a company. Not all of data breach are reported. The problem is that companies have issues that need also attention and that their decisions can affect the lives of their consumers.

5. Data Scraping

Many hobbyists or enthusiats love to scrape websites. However, the problem with web scraping is the legallity of the action. The company thinks that they are getting more customers when in actuality, some random user scrape their websites for fun. It is fun to scrape but as to how far a user can scrape is another question. With high traffic of scraping, it can lead to a Denial of Service for companies. The users that wants to access the companies website will not be able to due to the high load of traffic that goes beyond the server’s capabilities to handle information.