Data Privacy – How to protect your Devices and Passwords

Privacy of data is critical in this advanced age where everything is interconnected and can be accessed and utilized effortlessly. The potential outcomes of our private data being to a great degree vulnerable are genuine, which is the reason we require data protection.

Data protection is the need to safeguard and ensure any personal data, gathered by any organization, from being accessed by any third party. It is a piece of Information Technology that enables an individual or an organization to determine what data within a system can be shared to other people and which ought to be restricted.

In this computerized age, we apply the idea of data privacy to critical personal information, also known as personally identifiable information (PII) and personal health information (PHI). This includes Social Security numbers, health and medical records, financial data, including bank account and credit card, even basic information such as phone numbers, full names, addresses and birth-dates.

For a business, data privacy goes past the PII of its employees and customers. It also incorporates the data that enables the organization to operate, whether it’s proprietary research and development data or financial information that shows how it’s spending and investing its money.

Data Breach Incidents

In the past many data breach incidents took place which resulted not only financial loss of any organization but also personal data loss of the individuals. 2018 proved to be a tough year for the people at Facebook and Google. Since the beginning of 2018, Facebook has been under flame for a breach of trust and security of their users’ personal data. Google has been no exception as well.

Back in March, it was declared that data of 87 million Facebook users was sold and misused with the user’s consent, also known as the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Later, the company was associated with what might be the largest Facebook hack in its 14-year history, where more than 50 million users have been victimized (quick update: Facebook’s user base comprises of 2 billion users, which makes 2.5% of its user base). Note: even Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s account was hacked.) This attack is known as the largest breach in Facebook’s history.

Google has apparently also joined the bandwagon. A software glitch in the social platform Google+ has enabled developers to access Google+ profile data between 2015 and March 2018.

Any connections that use Facebook login should have been broken when Facebook reset the access tokens of the affected users. Google, then again has likewise expressed that it has found no evidence of glitch misuse. Google has announced to shut down Google+ permanently as a measure of assurance.

Protecting your Devices and Data

The first line in securing your data is you. Here are some tips to secure your personal devices, networks, credit cards and social networking accounts.

Data protection for Devices and Networks

• Encrypt your data
• Backup your device data
• Be selective with the applications you install
• Stay away from open WI-FI networks
• Keep your device refreshed with the software updates
• Secure your wireless network at your home or business
• Use anti-virus or anti-malware protection
• Don’t store passwords within your laptop or mobile device
• Enable remote location and device-wiping
• Set a pass code for your mobile device
• Wipe devices and set to factory defaults before donating or discarding

 

Protecting your credit

• Sign when using debit cards, don’t enter your PIN
• Sign up for email and text alerts for transactions
• Review your statements regularly
• Keep an eye out for small transactions
• Never offer your PIN code
• Avoid sensitive transactions on public Wi-Fi networks
• Shop on familiar websites

 

Protecting your data on social networking

• Don’t share too much personal information on social networking platforms
• Customize your social networking privacy settings
• Check your privacy settings consistently
• Set Two-Factor Authentication for your social media accounts
• Avoid suspicious website links
• Secure your web browsers
• Don’t download files from untrustworthy websites
• Don’t save passwords in your browser
• Use ad blockers for your browsers

Importance of Secure Password

The average person spends roughly 11 hours online every day. From banking to chatting, there’s no limit to all the tasks we can perform online. What’s disturbing, is that the majority’s passwords are extremely simple, and this leaves them to vulnerable to having their accounts hacked. Mostly, individuals persuade themselves that their email password is not important because they don’t receive anything. But the email address is connected to your bank account which can give access to your bank information easily. According to the statistics on passwords:

• Around 90% of passwords generated by users are vulnerable to hacking.
• 10,000 of the most common passwords (such as, ‘qwerty’, ‘1234’, or ‘password’) can access 98% of all accounts.
• In 2011 hackers stole 77 million Sony PlayStation Network passwords.
• In 2012 4000,000 Yahoo! Email addresses were hacked.
• In 2014 five million Gmail passwords were hacked and released online.
• In 2015 the IRS got in trouble for still using the password “password” for secure systems.

So, the more complex and strong your password is, the greater security it provides for your account. Remember that your account is where you store a great deal of sensitive data that you don’t want to have stolen. Hence the stakes are very high. Therefore, taking care of your account password is crucial. So, here’s how to create a strong password for your devices and accounts:

• Use long texts, weird strings that neither computers nor individuals can figure.
• Use a combination of lowercase and uppercase letters, numbers and special characters (such as: ?,*! @ <) for your passwords
• Avoid using any obvious combinations such as 12345, blends of phone numbers and addresses, or your personal information
• Never incorporate any string with successive numbers or letters
• Don’t use single words found in dictionary.
• Avoid using words found on your social media pages such as birthday, name of child, sports team, pet’s name etc.
• Don’t save passwords or use “remember me” on public computers
• Don’t use the passwords that have been used in the past
• Change your password regularly (approximately every 90 days).
• Don’t use same password for multiple accounts.
• Use a password manager tool, such as using Roboform, 1Password, TeamsID, so that you can have an alternate random password for each account, without you having to remember them all.

Password Security Measures

Passwords are undoubtedly basic to security, but they are not the only method that can be used to protect one’s systems and devices. Notwithstanding making a good password, people should learn how to protect it and use it wisely. This implies never sharing it and, if unable to remember it, keeping the written copy in a secure location.

Other security measures outside of passwords incorporate only providing personal information on websites that are encrypted. An encrypted website can easily be recognized by the presence of https at the beginning of the Web address. Computer security software is also critical when it comes to securing computers, and both security software and the firmware on mobile devices should be regularly updated.