Tsaaro, a data privacy, and cybersecurity services provider, has announced the key findings of its survey on privacy among elders and the data privacy scare of their present and future. The extensive study saw participation from more than 1000 + people pan India. Tsaaro aimed to gather valuable insights and on that basis drafted a detailed report which depicted the stand of people on the privacy among elders.
This survey mainly focuses on elders’ privacy literacy and attitudes on online privacy and privacy protection practices. The team studied the team discovered in the survey that the elderly have a low awareness of privacy issues and are unable to protect their personal information online. Furthermore, it was discovered that a significant number of elders had no idea what data privacy was, or were unaware of the safeguards available to protect their online privacy, resulting in them sharing personal data that was not required online.
The survey was sent out to elders via different platforms to ensure maximum participation. When they were asked if they were aware of data privacy, the numbers made us realize that with the change in the working of the world in general and the internet in specific, people have started giving data privacy equal importance to that of other fundamental rights. Seventy per cent of the participants said that they are aware of the concept of data privacy and on the other hand of the participants believe 55 per cent of elders comprise a marginalized group when it comes to digital privacy.
This survey analyzed that despite the dynamic changes going on in the world of the internet and the increase in threats around privacy, 30 per cent of the people were still not aware. Further, only 45 per cent of people were aware of their privacy-related rights as a data subject which raises various questions. It certainly indicates an immediate need to have better awareness tools. Fifty five per cent of the participants consider elders to be a marginalized group. It calls for specific measures that take into account that not everyone is tech-savvy. Seventy six per cent of our participants reported that they use social media platforms or messaging applications. While using the same is not an issue, it is paramount to take adequate measures to ensure that they do not result in the loss of their personal data.
Akarsh Singh Co-founder CEO, Tsaaro said, “We find ourselves at a crossroads that is inevitable in this information age: Government and business envision great public and private benefits in employing an array of privacy-invading devices and strategies to achieve a variety of social and commercial goals. We at Tsaaro, along with the privacy fraternity of the world, are eager to see what the future of the draft Data Protection Bill, 2021 holds and how it addresses various privacy-related needs of our elders. ’’
The report acts as a reminder to older folks to be wary of these privacy concerns since the information gathered will demonstrate the group’s understanding of their right to privacy as individuals. At every step of interacting with the world, one needs to be mindful of the amount of personal information that they share. Further, there is a particular need to be extra cautious of the indirect ways in which personal data gets leaked out, such as through cookies, spam e-mails, social media, etc. Some of the steps that can be taken to ensure that protect privacy, both online and offline are:
Don’t share: Do not share private credentials (OTP, passwords, CVV, Atm pin) with anyone
Use passwords: The password should be long, use as many characters as you can, and make sure that your credentials aren’t easy to crack. Assume it’s a fraud: If you sense that any unknown call, e-mail, or message might be fraud, always act according to that assumption and avoid it.
Monitor permissions: Monitor your devices regularly for the permissions which have been granted to different applications and check for any unnecessary downloads.
Don’t make it public: Never log from an untrusted public network/computer, the network could be infected.
Think before you share: Information shared on the internet can never be deleted, which means if you want to keep a piece of information only to yourself then never share it online.
Two-factor authentication: Use two-factor authentication for your accounts. Instead of just protecting your accounts with a password, enabling two-factor authentication would ensure more protection, as it involves two phases/layers of security.
Reset: Reset all your passwords once in a while, instead of overusing them.
