Your Professional Data Is Coming Under Attack

Two recent events are reminding us to manage our professional data i.e. our online CVs etc. more actively.

• LinkedIn has announced new privacy policies and terms
• Google is about to launch its LinkedIn competitor Google Hire

This is merely a coincidence as there is a lot of money to be made in online recruiting. Microsoft just spent $26B for LinkedIn in 2016 or $65 per user profile – just as a reminder how much your personal data is worth to such companies. No surprise that Google wants to take part in this market as well. But why should that worry you:

1. LinkedIn now makes your profile “more visible”. That means they sell your data increasingly to 3rd parties. That could be a head hunter and you might be happy to get a call for that killer job. But it might be as well your bank or your insurance. Then you might be even more surprised to be turned down for a loan or your premiums go up based on the results of their data mining of your LinkedIn data.
   As another new feature LinkedIn will offer a “business networking tinder” function. This function will notifiy users when they are in the same location. Making LinkedIn yet another app tracking your every move.
   And last but not least they offer a chat bot. It will text on your behalf like sending out Happy Birthdays in your own personal style. No matter if you even remember the person you just sent your congratulations to.
2. With regards to Google’s new Hire project the Daily Mail reminds us in a beautiful way how personal data in the wrong hands can back fire on us: “Google dismisses claims its new recruitment tool will let employers snoop on your ENTIRE search history“. Of course Google dismissed those claims immediately, but who knows how exactly they will combine the Hire data with everything else they know about you.

So take control of your personal data. Store it securely in your BitsaboutMe Personal Data Store (PDS), reduce the data trail (e.g. past search and browsing data) to a minimum and actively manage your privacy settings on your professional network e.g. LinkedIn.