With big data available at almost every company, data breaches are becoming more sophisticated and, thus, grow in number and in scale, leaving customers at a loss as to how to properly protect their personal data.

The recently updated cyber security statistics by Comparitech paints a terrifying picture when it comes to cybercrime:

"One of the more troubling trends we found is the impact on consumers. The stark increase in data breaches results in an unprecedented amount of compromised personal information. As more consumers become exposed to data-hungry criminals, it’s increasingly apparent that personal protections against data theft are more important than ever."

While in the past almost every data breach has been reported, those breaches by now have become the norm. Today only the big breaches make it to the headlines. For example when attackers were able to steal full credit card details of 380.000 people during an attack on the website of British Airways this September, or when during the Equifax data breach personal data of millions of people got stolen.

Companies fail to build trust by misusing data

In addition to those scandals, consumers believe that companies are using the consumers' personal data incorrectly. At the same time companies feel that they do not have to inform their customers - let alone ask for permission - when they deem a new use of the consumers' personal data is acceptable.

As more and more data breaches are being made public by the media (just think of the latest Facebook scandal), it comes at no surprise that people don't trust that companies use their data correctly.

Check this email comparison to learn about email services and their level of security.

More and more people will experience a data misuse. Source

Building trust is a business opportunity

The rising distrust in tech giants around the world has fueled a privacy-movement that motivate millions of users around the world to leave Google and switch to privacy-friendly alternatives.

The Boston Consulting Group sees building trust as one of the main business opportunities for the years to come:

"Imagine a company that zealously and thoughtfully safeguards and marshals the consumer data it holds, for the good of both company and consumer—so much so that consumers preferentially choose to buy products and services from this company."

Encryption makes trust unnecessary

The good news is: People already have a choice. They can pass on as little data as possible. They can pay in cash instead of using a credit card. They can choose to use encrypted web services instead of mainstream ones.

When all data is encrypted end-to-end, no one but the users themselves can unlock their data. This way trust becomes unnecessary.

We at Tutanota believe that this is how the future internet should look like. When people demand that their data is kept private, when they demand end-to-end encryption from their web services, companies will deliver. Then - and only then - you can be sure that no one is misusing your personal data.

Read here Why you need a new webmail login now.