Comparitech.com finds 1 in 4 Britons would allow their CSP to share data with third parties for cheap or free service

Comparitech.com, the website that helps people to make informed choices about privacy, together with One Poll, has polled 1,000 members of the UK public and found that one in four people would willingly give up their personal data to third parties in return for a cheap or free service from their mobile, broadband or TV provider.

This can include data such as contact information and web usage, which could then be used to target advertisements by third parties, or in worse cases compromise privacy in the event of a data breach.

“It’s worrying that so many Brits would be willing to trade in their personal data, especially considering they knew nothing about the third parties where their information would be going,” said Lee Munson, security researcher at Comparitech.com. “Either people are clearly far too trusting of their service providers, or they simply don’t care who has access to their personal information – and that is a scary issue. This is especially worrying given that TalkTalk, a large-scale provider, was breached just a few months back.”

 Lee Munson, security researcher Comparitech.com
Lee Munson, security researcher Comparitech.com

In a recent NTIA poll in the US, almost one in five households confessed to experiencing an online security breach, identity theft or similar malicious incident. As such, US citizens seemed far more wary of their privacy, with 45% boycotting the use of online banking, shopping and social media out of privacy fears.

“While shunning the use of online commerce and social media is maybe a bit extreme, there are other ways in which people can have the best of both worlds by taking steps to increase their privacy yet still being able take advantage of the convenience that the web offers,” said Munson.

Munson offers these simple and effective tips for safeguarding online privacy and security:

  • Don’t use the same password for multiple applications. Choose hard to guess, long passwords containing a mix of numbers, capitals and symbols. If you struggle to remember these, use a password manager.
    Use a firewall and antivirus service, there are lots of good ones available and if you don’t want to pay for one, the reputable free ones are better than nothing.
  • Be careful when using public Wi-Fi networks, avoid divulging any sensitive information or making financial transactions.
  • Check your privacy settings on social networks, particularly Facebook.
  • Don’t click on links in emails or open attachments from people you don’t know, unless you really are sure it is safe to do so.
  • Regularly update software on all of your devices; software updates often close security loopholes hackers could otherwise take advantage of.
  • Where possible, always use two factor authentication, particularly for logging in to email or when accessing online banking.

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