Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2011/10/26/information_commissioner_identity_future_job_prospects/
Job-seeking university bods panic over incriminating online info
Don't turn into a pumpkin at the Halloween Ball
Posted in Legal, 26th October 2011 13:38 GMT
Nearly half of university students are fretting about their future job prospects due to concerns about what personal information about them is lurking on the interwebs.
The Information Commissioner's Office tasked YouGov with asking around 500 students across Blighty to take part in the survey.
It found that 42 per cent, or four out of 10 respondents, were worried about their future careers because of the personal details about them that were already available online.
The same survey revealed that many students were failing to adequately protect themselves against the threat of ID theft.
One in three (33 per cent) students who had lived at a previous address while at university still hadn’t arranged the redirection of all their important post to their current university address.
Over three-quarters (76 per cent) failed to check their credit rating in the last year, and two-thirds (66 per cent) had never checked it, allowing suspicious credit applications to go unnoticed, noted the ICO.
The watchdog also launched its 2011 Student Brand Ambassador Campaign today to help raise awareness of an individual's information rights.
“In tough times, young people are clearly less relaxed about privacy, particularly in relation to information that they post online – but many may not know what they can do about it," said Information Commissioner Christopher Graham. ®