Some of the basic principles outlined by these laws state that some sensitive information should not be collected unless for extreme situations. However, the emergence of big data has also increased the number of data breaches and cyberattacks by entities who realize the value of this information. As a result, concerns have been raised over how companies handle the sensitive information of their consumers. Regulatory bodies are seeking new laws to protect the data of consumers, while users are looking for more anonymous ways to stay digital. Non-sensitive personally identifiable information is easily accessible from public sources and can include your zip code, race, gender, and date of birth. What you can do is upgrade the software to fix the problem that keeps occurring.

The above list contains quasi-identifiers and examples of non-sensitive information that can be released to the public. This type of information cannot be used alone to determine an individual’s identity. Social media sites may be considered non-sensitive personally identifiable information.

Data anonymization seeks to protect private or sensitive data by deleting or encrypting personally identifiable information from a database. Likewise, there are some steps you can take to prevent online identity theft. Data leaks are a major source of identity theft, so it is important to use a different, complex password for each online account. Always encrypt your important data, and use a password for each phone or device. It is also a good idea to reformat your hard drive whenever you sell or donate a computer.

The offers that appear in this table are from partnerships from which Investopedia receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where listings appear. Investopedia does not include all offers available in the marketplace. While it is not possible to fully protect yourself, you can make yourself a smaller target by reducing the opportunities to steal your PII.

When a user tries to connect to the server mail through SSL encryption, this type of error generated. It usually happens in the Microsoft Outlook on the Windows10. If this error code appears, it means you are not able to operate outlook mailing office properly.

It coordinates people with mail, and it has a coordinated management program. Email, he said, is an inherently insecure mechanism to transmit and receive restricted and sensitive data, including PII. The ISO is particularly concerned about online forms and web apps that collect PII and other confidential information through user submissions, and send that data by email. This method is called being “sent in the clear” or “clear text.” In other words, anyone between the online form or web app server and the receiving inbox can read the message. When this happens, there are no protections around the data as it crosses the internet. Firstly the most common reason is that you may have wrongly installed Microsoft Outlook on your computer.

The error may occur because of usage of multiple accounts simultaneously. Personal data is not classified as PII and non-personal data such as the company you work for, shared data, or anonymized data. Cybercriminals breach data systems to access PII, which is then sold to willing buyers in underground digital marketplaces.