Importance of Online Privacy

This is the age of social networking, likes, tweets, snaps, and whatnot. Privacy is a privilege these days, with anonymity being a shield that protects only those who wear it. Social Media has normalized a culture of data oversharing and the times are harder than ever when maintaining privacy is concerned.

Ever wonder why we put so much emphasis on online privacy? Well, when it comes to your personal or financial information, cybercriminals are sniffing for it, all the time. A said cyber-criminal may impersonate themselves as you and access your account details, attain loans in your name and withdraw money from your bank account in the worst case. Most importantly, you must remember that your privacy should be your prized possession, your activities, your habits, and behavioral patterns must be protected at all costs. In short, we need to be careful with the information we share online.

Protect yourself from identity theft

Your identity is the most important asset of yours, imagine a time when you can’t make someone believe that you are you. Frustrating, isn’t it? Similarly, consider a situation where you wish to apply for a business loan for your own start-up or getting a passport for your first solo trip abroad and you can’t prove that you are you. In order to avoid such infuriating situations, you must keep your identity safe, under all circumstances. Identity thefts like impersonation are on the rise these days. And if you end up becoming the victim of it, this can destabilize your personal and professional reputation. To avoid a dreadful situation like this, follow these simple steps to avoid possible identity theft:

• Make sure your internet connection comes with a security suite, like the one offered by https://www.localcabledeals.com/Cox/Internet keeping you safe as you browse your way through the internet
• Have updated virus protection in your computer
• Don’t turn that firewall off!
• Don’t provide personal information to a place that seems fishy, if something appears shady, it might as well be.
• Go for two-factor authentication rather than the old one-factor one.
• Avoid using mainstream items as passphrases.

Protect your business from potential Cyber Crime

According to figures quoted by the Australian government, businesses lost 2.7 million dollars in 2015, all of them hit by some degree of the cyber-crime storm. This was 33% of Australia businesses affected by cyber-crime that year. This is enough to convince one that businesses need to take extra measures to ensure their online privacy is protected from cyber-attacks. Some of the simple steps include:

• Invest in a cyber-security awareness program to keep you and your staff au fait the latest online privacy practices.
• Protect passphrases for business accounts as your children and only trust the senior management with them thus saving them from falling in potentially unsafe hands.
• Ensure that all networked computers have a virus protection software installed in place to ensure business information, employee and customer databases are safe and secure.

Be wary of the content you and your family shares on social platforms

Social Media has become a part of our lives like that dearest friend we love to share all our life moments with. We use it to stay connected to our friends and family wherever they are on the globe. However, sharing too much can very well be lethal. Some of the cybercrimes even included child kidnappings based on social media information shared by their parents on social media. So, for the sake of your and your family’s safety, make sure you follow the right precautionary measure. Some of which include:

• Avoid publishing your address or personal contact details for public viewing on your social media
• Only share things with people you can absolutely trust
• Someone can save, edit or re-share images that you upload online without your knowledge, so upload only what you must share.
• Adjust your social media privacy settings to control who sees what you share

Discuss with your family and children the potential harms of a data breach and oversharing on social media and ensure their safety.