Page 19 - ADU Voice Volume 3 Issue 2
P. 19
FALL 2023 · voice 19
Sharing any kind of infor- as signaled through posts liked and shared.
mation on the Internet could Whilst digital footprints could be used
lead to being exposed, trafficked, and for advantageous things, including social
exploited. One of the main consequences searches, there is also a dark side to it. One
that come with being active on the Internet of the ways a digital footprint could be used
is the emergence of a ‘digital footprint’. A is in phishing attacks, which are used to trick
digital footprint is the sum of an internet people into revealing sensitive information
user’s traceable digital activities and data and to give the attackers access to private
that are left behind. Experts note that this networks. Another way our digital footprint
footprint comprises both passive data, which and data could be used nefariously is on the
includes your IP address, search history dark web, a restricted platform infamous for
cookies and metadata, as well as the active a range of illegal activities, including the sale
data we voluntarily upload and contribute and trade of stolen data. Websites that store
to online platforms, such as text, photos and information for different purposes, such
videos, as well as our personal preferences as online shopping, are highly prone to
