Data protection is essential whether you’re an individual, a business, or an organization. For ordinary people, it’s your best bet to fight identity theft. For businesses and organizations, you’re likely to have sensitive information that a competitor or enemy can use to cause your downfall.
Regardless of who you are, your data should only be accessed by you alone. But how can you keep both your online and offline information safe?
Protect Your Mail
Lock your mailbox or use a mail slot for your home. As much as possible, protect your mail. Thieves can do a lot with even just your name and your personal information. Additionally, you’ll want to shred any documents that might have your details, such as receipts, bank statements and other important documents.
It makes it almost impossible for thieves to acquire any of your information. You should also protect your email. There are certain services like Office 365 email security and protection that offers security and even back-up.
Passwords
Passwords are your first line of defense for your phone, laptop, bank account, and various online accounts you have. That said, make sure it’s something hackers will never get. Create strong passwords. But more than that, change them regularly as well.
You should also never save your passwords on any device you own. Chances are if they get stolen, your accounts can be easily accessed without thieves breaking a sweat. It’s not even recommended to write down passwords on sticky notes and papers.
If possible, memorize your passwords. Or, if not possible, make sure you have a copy in a secure place.
Back-Up Your Data
Many tend to overlook this step, but it’s really one of the essential steps you should take. Backing your data up is basically creating a copy of all of your data. In the event your data is stolen, lost, or compromised, you don’t lose all of them. This is more important for businesses and organizations.
Cloud services are a great way to back data up. You can also access them anytime.
Privacy Settings
Whenever you use an app, be sure to check their privacy settings. It gives you the freedom to choose what type of data you’re sharing. Of course, you’ll want to select the option with the least amount of data sharing. Besides apps, you should also check the privacy policy of websites you sign up for.
It may take time to read through their privacy policy, but you’ll know what type of data they’ll get from you and what happens to it. If you’re not comfortable with their privacy policy, at least you can stop your process of signing up at their website. It beats regretting signing up and providing data you don’t want to provide.
Secure Your Network
Lastly, secure your computer and your home network. Installing anti-malware software and firewalls can help secure your device and any data you might have on it. Additionally, never use public Wi-Fi to log-in on anything as it’s easy for hackers to “eavesdrop” your online activity through these unsecured networks.
There are several other ways to secure your data, both online and offline. But most of all, be mindful of the information you’re sharing.
