Identity protection in the digital age

Published on: September 7, 2018 / Update from: September 9, 2018 - Author: Konrad Wolfenstein

The Internet has now conquered almost all areas of our lives. This has many advantages, but also involves risks. “A major disadvantage is the increasing threat to personal data and thus to one's own identity, the misuse of which can increase.” says Manfred Güllner, founder and managing director of the opinion research institute forsa, which deals with the topic of “identity protection in the digital age” on behalf of Schufa has.

This shows that the majority of people in Germany believe that they are well informed about the dangers of misusing personal data on the Internet. Nevertheless, at least twelve percent of those surveyed have already become victims of identity abuse. Those affected become aware of the abuse through, among other things, incomprehensible invoices, account transactions or reminders.

Most of the time, such cases end lightly - only one in ten victims suffers financial damage. To protect themselves from the misuse of their personal data, the study participants pay attention to the sender of emails and, if necessary, do not open them. What is worrying is that a third do not pay attention to keeping security software up to date. Only a little more than half of those surveyed regularly delete browser history or cookies on their devices.

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