Pointing out that the protection of personal data in the digital age is not only the responsibility of the individual but also the shared responsibility of institutions and the state, Üsküdar University Corporate Big Data Coordinator Hakan Özdemir, in his assessment within the scope of April 7 Personal Data Protection Day, emphasized that the biggest gap in the protection of personal data in the digital world is the lack of awareness.
Stating that individuals mostly take precautions only after experiencing victimization, Özdemir said, “However, privacy requires a proactive rather than reactive approach. The perception of 'I'm not an important person, who would be interested in me?' is also misleading, because the problem is not targeted espionage, but the aggregation of data collected from millions of people and its conversion into an economic or political tool.”
Üsküdar University Head of Digital Technologies and Software Department, Big Data Coordinator Hakan Özdemir, in his assessment within the scope of April 7 Personal Data Protection Day, pointed out that the protection of personal data in the digital age is not only the responsibility of the individual but also the shared responsibility of institutions and the state.
The perception of 'I'm not an important person, who would be interested in me?' is misleading
IT Specialist Hakan Özdemir, drawing attention to the responsibility of users to protect their personal data today, said, “The responsibility of the individual, institutions, and the state is equal; however, the system often places the burden on the individual. The real problem is this: People usually act only after experiencing victimization. However, privacy requires a proactive rather than reactive approach. The perception of 'I'm not an important person, who would be interested in me?' is also misleading, because the problem is not targeted espionage, but the aggregation of data collected from millions of people and its conversion into an economic or political tool. The individual is within this picture but does not feel it; the biggest awareness gap is right here.”
Users sacrifice security for convenience!
Özdemir also touched upon user errors, saying, “The most critical mistake of users is sacrificing security for 'convenience'.
The most common examples:
- Using the same password on different platforms;
- Carelessly granting permissions to entertainment applications;
- Postponing software updates.
He emphasized that technical knowledge is not required to take precautions in daily life, but four habits are of great importance. According to Özdemir, here are those 4 points:
- Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) on every account
- Use a password manager;
- Make it a habit to question the permissions requested by the application you install;
- Take an offline backup of your important files.
250 full working days are needed to read privacy texts from start to finish!
Hakan Özdemir stated that the fact that long and complex privacy texts on applications and websites are almost never read is a systemic problem. “Research shows that an internet user needs to spend approximately 250 full working days a year to read all the privacy texts they encounter from start to finish. These texts are not written to inform the user, but to protect the company from legal liability,” he stated.
The solution lies in layered information!
Hakan Özdemir, who proposed the “layered information” model to solve this problem, concluded his words as follows:
“The solution lies in layered information. The user should first see a summary supported by icons, briefly answering the questions: ‘Which data is being collected, why, with whom is it shared, and for how long is it stored?’ Those who want details should be able to go down to the next layer, and the full legal text should be at the very end. The language should also be simple enough for everyone to understand.”
