Data Equals Profit
In this digital age, every action – every click, search, and share – shapes our digital identity. In this series, we will attempt to find the true worth of personal data. We already know the majority of profits made on the web are driven by user data and if we’re going to start reclaiming some of that value for ourselves, we need to first figure out how much it’s worth.
The Digital Underworld: Understanding the Black Market
We'll be looking at a few angles, the first is the digital black market. The modern black market, housed on the dark web where 90% of the internet actually is, holds not just illicit goods but stolen personal data. Here, personal details of everyday internet users become prized assets, traded and bartered as valuable commodities.
Recent events underscore the alarming scale of these activities. A staggering 400 million Twitter users' private emails and linked phone numbers found themselves on the market. This breach, reportedly from the "Zero-Day Hack" group in 2021, shows the sophistication and audacity of modern hackers. Major industries, especially e-commerce, insurance, and the financial sectors, are under constant threat but the price of the data stolen from them varies.
Streaming accounts like Spotify or Hulu go for as little as $2.75.Comprehensive medical records, particularly valued in the insurance and healthcare sectors, can command prices up to $1000. In the aforementioned Twitter breach, contact details of many high-profile users were held ransom at the price of $276 million. And while that’s quite the sum, it pales in comparison to the potential GDPR fines which collectively reached $2.92B in 2022. This speaks to the truth of the digital age, every digital fragment, every byte of data, has value. And on the black market, there's always a buyer.
Modern Problems, Modern Solutions
Going Ghost is pioneering efforts to make sure your data isn’t part of the next hostage situation.
Our flagship product, the data passport, lets you untangle your personal data from the web while creating a mutually beneficial exchange between you and legitimate businesses interested in your data i.e., we get you paid for sharing your data. Learn more at ( www.goingghost.me ).
Next Stop: Billions for Them, Nada for You
The next stop in our series examines how much your personal data is worth in the corporate world. We'll take a look at how companies can make billions on our personal data while the only benefit we seem to get are “better” advertisements. Stay tuned.
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