As they navigate the internet, people leave digital fingerprints in their wake, and companies regularly use this data to learn more about their customers and target audiences. If this data ends up in the hands of hackers, however, the information can be compromised, and as more data is stored electronically the risk of identity theft increases.
Rick Forno, assistant director of the UMBC Center for Cybersecurity and director of the Cybersecurity Graduate Program at UMBC, describes in The Daily Record tools to disguise digital fingerprints and protect personal information online. TrackOFF, a Baltimore-based software company, is one example highlighted in the piece, but Forno also notes that there are a variety of ways to keep online information private.
Forno says that younger generations are “more comfortable sharing material on the internet,” and recommends internet users balance the convenience of data sharing with care to protect their identities.
“I think the benefits of sharing is sort of the attraction, but people don’t think about ‘what am I giving up along the way?’,” cautions Forno.
Read the full article “Baltimore cyber company disguises digital fingerprints,”in The Daily Record.
Update: Forno also spoke with The Baltimore Sun about technologies that help protect data online, such as the ones created by TrackOFF. The article appeared in Government Technology.
Image: Rick Forno. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.
Tags: COEIT, Cybersecurity
