Data brokers are everywhere. And while they’re legal (when they abide by government regulations) and a vital part of our information economy, they can sometimes seem like shadowy entities that operate behind the scenes, surreptitiously collecting troves of your data and selling it. And, to some extent, that’s exactly what’s going on. Data brokers gather information from millions of sources and then sell that data to others. Companies use data brokers to find consumer behavior patterns, generate credit scores, or compile demographic information. Which means that data brokers have a ton of personal information in their archives that they are regularly updating and providing to third parties. Data broking is big business: it’s been estimated that the industry is worth $200 billion per year, with up to 4,000 data brokering companies worldwide.
Consumers need to be aware of the omnipresence of data brokers and the associated risks. Data brokers are often in the news, either because of a breach or leak, or in articles and op-eds discussing the potential dangers that face consumers who (knowingly or inadvertently) have their data collected.
How do data brokers get your data, and what do they do with it?
Often, before customer data goes to a data broker, a person needs to accept some sort of release or acknowledge that their data will be shared. But sometimes it happens automatically and without the individual’s knowledge. Data broker sites obtain information about you in a number of ways:
1. Browsing history: Every time you use a search engine, an app, fill out a form, or do pretty much anything online these days, you leave some of your data lying around. Data brokers use this to build up a picture of who you are. Web tracking installed on most websites collects information about online activities. Data brokers also use web scraping to gather info.
2. Public sources: Birth certificates, marriage licenses, divorce records, voter registration information, court records, bankruptcy records, motor vehicle records, and census data are usually all available in the public domain and data brokers work to acquire this.
3. Commercial sources: Besides online purchases, brick-and-mortar stores also accumulate information such as what you’ve purchased, how much you’ve paid, and if you have loyalty cards.
A lot of times – in fact, as legally required, usually all the time – you have to consent to commercial entities and websites collecting and distributing your data. It’s easy to just click through consent pop-ups, however, so a lot of people are still surprised when their data surfaces elsewhere. After obtaining your data, brokers sell it to other companies for various commercial purposes including marketing strategizing, risk analysis, insurance rate determination, and people-searching.
As you might imagine, cyberattacks, breaches, and leaks at data brokers can have serious consequences. Cyberattacks at giant credit score companies like Equifax have affected the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people, and have made the news in big ways. But smaller data brokers also have your data, and breaches and leaks there often aren’t highly visible in the media. A data broker that has your data could be breached and you might never know about it. So it’s vital to have the power to understand exactly what data of yours brokers have, and to take steps to reduce your exposure.
Take Back Control With HackNotice
HackNotice offers industry-leading, real-time dark web scanning and alerts you immediately if any of your personal data has been compromised. We also let you know instantly about breaches and leaks that occur on websites that have your data. And, specifically for personal information that’s in the hands of data brokers, we let you automatically remove all of it. That’s real power.
Our new automated Data Broker Takedown service automatically and efficiently removes data from numerous data brokers for every employee and user of HackNotice – with just a couple clicks of a button. By effectively eliminating this data on a large scale, this service aids in reducing data exposure, minimizing the threat of data breaches, preventing identity/account theft, and, on a personal level, curbing targeted advertising and spam.
This service is integrated into our existing product, and there are no additional costs associated with its usage. It’s that easy!
To learn more about how HackNotice lets you take back control from data brokers, schedule a demo here.
Sources:
- https://dataprot.net/guides/list-of-data-brokers/
- https://www.consumerfinance.gov/
- https://www.kaspersky.com/resource-center/preemptive-safety/how-to-stop-data-brokers-from-selling-your-personal-information
