Data Brokers: Profiling Your Life One Click at a Time

If you’ve ever received a flood of spam emails for products you’ve never ordered, and websites you’ve never visited, chances are your personal data has been sold by a data broker. Data brokers are part of a legitimate industry, and often sell your general information to companies launching targeted marketing campaigns. However, their practices can prove frustrating and potentially, may even threaten your cybersecurity. An excellent privacy tool can be the key that keeps the data brokers away, and can give you peace of mind when you’re connected online. Across the globe, data brokers are a part of a lucrative industry. The current data broker market is valued at $280.82 billion, and is projected to grow by another $100 billion by 2030. Many companies rely on this industry to ensure their marketing reaches their target audience. Many credible websites use disclaimers to let their customers and account holders know that their information may be sold to a third party, and explain how that data may be used. However, less than credible data brokers might sell your personal data to any third party, for any reason. Data brokers, also known as information product companies, analyze and collect personal data, and then sell that data to third parties. They gather personal information and build profiles on millions of people. For example, robocalls may occur as a result of data brokers selling your profile to the highest bidder. Legal data collection might be sold by data brokers so that companies can reach you for the following reasons: Data brokers selling personal data mostly hand over contact information such as your email address, phone number, and physical mailing address. These companies might also collect aggregate demographic data and information about your purchases. This information isn’t confidential, and can be collected from any of the following sources: Data brokers selling personal data may aggregate the information via multiple sources, or they may buy lists from other companies that they turn around and sell to organizations. Some data brokers have existing relationships with long-term corporate clients, and others may work on a contractual basis. Unscrupulous data brokers may sell your personal information to the highest bidder, including entities that operate on the dark web. Currently, there aren’t federal laws to regulate the data broker industry. However, in 2024, President Biden signed the Protecting Americans’ Data From Foreign Adversaries Act of 2024 (PADFA) into law. This law restricts the ability of U.S. data brokers from selling sensitive personal data of Americans to potentially malicious foreign adversaries, including China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia, or to companies that are based in those countries. Data brokers use personal information to compile thorough customer profiles. These profiles are then used for myriad reasons, including: You might be surprised to discover that many trusted companies are also data brokers. First-party companies like Amazon and Facebook may sell information from their databases to a third party. However, third-party data brokers purchase personal data and then sell it to another party. Some of the most high profile examples of data brokers include: As data brokers create large databases, cybercriminals can target their vulnerabilities and expose vast amounts of data. The risk of identity theft, financial fraud, and other ways that weaponize personal data, raises larger questions about the security practices and ethics of data brokers. Here are some of the largest high profile data breaches involving data brokers selling personal data, and the number of individuals they impacted: You can discover if your information has been compromised in a data breach via Have I Been Pwned . You can’t completely avoid data brokers if you’re online. However, the great news is that there are measures you can take to protect your identity and avoid some brokers’ databases. Identity monitoring services allow you to track the use of your personal data and will alert you to suspicious activity or use of your information. Some, but unfortunately not all, data brokers also offer opt out services and give people the option of complete removal from databases. Some of the most popular identity monitoring services include: To opt out of data broker databases, you can use the following: Data brokers are a vital tool for many corporations. However, they can also leave you vulnerable to cyberattacks and data breaches. It’s important to understand how data brokers work, remain aware of their potential risks, and discover the extra layers of cybersecurity you can add to protect yourself. Along with identity monitoring and opt out tools, What Is My IP Address offers a Personal Data Scan for U.S. residents. This fantastic, free tool searches over 80 websites of data brokers to alert you to your personally identifiable information (PII) that can be found on the Internet. Take control of your online data and use the Personal Data Scan today.