How much trust do you have in the companies you do business with to keep your personal information secure?

I don't trust them at all. On the one hand, I have to mail a signed letter to my former college to get them to release my transcripts to someone I choose, on the other hand, almost anyone can get a hold of my credit report and use it to make decisions about me that have nothing to do with granting me a loan. Heaven knows what my doctors and my insurance company are doing with my health information, and that's just the people who have legally obtained my personal information. Hackers could get my credit card numbers by hacking Target, Kmart, Amazon, or any number of gas stations I've used, and someone could gain access to my bank accounts by hacking my local credit union. Internet security experts have likened the use of our Social Security numbers as our personal identifiers to using the same password on every account we have on the internet. Our personal information is no more secure than our houses would be if we never locked them. We might not get robbed today or tomorrow, but it will happen sooner or later.