50% of all Americans had their data hacked in the last year : NYT

The headline would sound like alarmist spam if it weren't essentially what is being reported today by the New York Times.

News of huge leaks like the one last month at the OPM or on iCloud last year tends to grab attention, but reality, as the NYT article reveals, is that data hacking is a steady, background activity that is far more commonpace than we realize.

And why not? Most internet users (and websites) focus on the ease and convenience of providing services and the first casualty is always security. The reality is that easy and free exchange of data and information has made our lives easier, helped us be more productive and be more connected to the communities we like.

The challenge lies in separating data that is social and should be shared easily from that which is private and needs to be protected. The solution lies both with individual users who have to invest a little more of their mindshare in understanding where their data is stored and with web sites and software developers that need to come up with tools that actually make it easy for the average user to keep their important data safe.