This generation lives online and is being corrupted online, losing their identities.  Any one of us could be next.

Young people think that they are invincible, that hackers will never be able to acquire anything from them. This is not true.  Entrepreneur.com says that the 20-year-old age range is most susceptible to any kind of hackings.  Almost 29 percent of those young people store their passwords out in the open for anyone to see; however, when it comes to storing work passwords, the percent rises to 37.

I can attest to this because I write my passwords for work on a paper and carry it practically everywhere I go, not thinking that a lot of my information could be accessed including where I live, my full name, and birthday, my family members, and maybe even my social security number.

Anthem, the second largest U.S. health insurer, was hacked because the company did not adequately protect their client information.  The hackers gained access to 80 million records, such as social security numbers, birthdays and employment.  However, they did not get away with medical records.

This hack is similar to the JP Morgan Chase case last summer when 83 million were affected.  Hackers got addresses and phone numbers, but no financial information.

These companies think that databases information is safe, but if a criminal hacker wants the information, they can get it.  They are good at what they do, and a data breach can get them someone’s identity.

If a hacker obtains a social security number, that person can then get credit cards and loans and then relatively easily buy items under a false name.

However, I don’t see any solution.  If companies secure information better, hackers will just enhance their tools for hacking.

Computer software and systems can only do so much protecting. Society, especially this generation, lives their lives on a computer with many social media accounts.

On these sites, the user can “check-in,” also known as geotagging to where they are eating, shopping, etc.  This person can then be tracked by relatively anyone who has access to these sites.  A majority of the people who use location tracking don’t think twice about it.

According to an NBCNewYork.com article on geotagging, 52 percent of people on social media websites post information that could make them a victim of crimes. And, if someone were to look at all the geotags, patterns would arise and a predator could easily track where one works or even lives.

Also, all too often on Twitter, I see people, mostly high schoolers, giving out their phone numbers, sometimes even their addresses. One might not think anything could happen from giving out this information; however, others can repost a post, which makes information move along swiftly.  The original poster is less likely to know everyone that their friends are friends with if their information is shared.

Privacy has dwindled and soon it will not exist in this online world we live in.  When will there be 12 of me, and how will the government know which one is the real one who isn’t a fraudulent person?