Identity theft protection in a hyperconnected world: How insurance can safeguard your digital identity

One of the key features of the modern world is that it is hyperconnected. Everyone, including young children, owns a personal digital assistant, a smartphone, that is always on and connected with the Internet and with the people they are in contact with most frequently. We do everything online, from banking to shopping and travel reservations. Recent events have accelerated the move towards doing even more on connected devices, including telemedicine consultations, online therapy, and schooling. This has caused a dramatic increase in the amount of time we spend in digital environments, with an exponential rise in the amount of data companies can collect about us. In this highly-connected, highly-tracked world, a multitude of inherent risks to our digital identities have emerged. Anonymity is no longer an option, nor would we want it to be. We cannot opt out of the records we leave behind every time we go online, records that can be freely traded across the Internet marketing landscape, records that are equally available to criminals, marketing companies, and those who wish to do us no good.