By Julie Peeler, (ISC)2 Foundation Director
Tomorrow marks Data Privacy Day and while it may not be a national holiday, it’s a great opportunity to take a step back and evaluate our personal data privacy and security measures. Over the last year, we’ve heard about a lot of companies and organizations getting hacked and customer information being compromised. And while it’s imperative that we do our best to ensure that we’re working with companies with sound security policies in place, it’s also incredibly important that we make sure we are doing everything we can at home to keep our information private.
In the last few years, I’ve heard an overwhelming number of stories about adults and kids, yes kids, having their identities stolen and their lives ruined because of simple, avoidable mistakes. At Safe & Secure Online we’ve dedicated ourselves to keeping parents and children educated about how to stay safe on the Internet. Given the theme of day, I’d like to offer some tricks to be mindful of and some tips for keep you and your family safe year-round!
- If your information has been compromised, flag everyone’s social security number (SSN). Most of us are smart enough to flag our SSNs with credit bureaus if we know that a piece of our information has been compromised to avoid a potentially situation of identity theft. But what many of us don’t realize is that hackers are smart and they go after the SSNs of children, which are often stored alongside their parents’. They do this for two reasons: First, parents don’t normally think to flag the SSNs of their children and second, when a child’s identity is stolen, can go undetected for years until the child applies for a college loan, their first credit card, or attempts to buy their first home. It’s a tough mess to untangle.
- Keep private information private. Many times, we give away information about ourselves and our children completely unwittingly. This is especially prevalent with the tendency to “overshare” on social networking sites. Much like announcing your three-week vacation can attract burglars, providing seemingly innocent information related to private matters like health conditions, for example, can also come back to haunt you or your kids. Remember, the Internet is forever and search engines are able to search social media sites better than ever.
- Keep software up to date: It may seem like a chore, but making sure you’re downloading security updates for your operating system and keeping your security software complete up to date make all the difference in keeping your family safe online. Also, making sure your firewalls and other security precautions are at their highest level is incredibly important to keep the bad guys away from your private information.
In the coming week, Safe & Secure Online will be launching a robust how-to guide discussing how to configure your security settings on everyday devices like mobile phones, your web browser, your social media, and more. Be sure to check back soon at https://cyberexchange.isc2.org/safe-secure.aspx , and in the meantime, start thinking about ways you can keep your family’s private information, private!
