Digital Footprint Protection

Criminals will always find more sophisticated ways to extract our data from us. We have to accept that online safety is not 100% secure. However, we can take steps to reduce our exposure to others.
These are the top areas of cyber security that you should pay attention to in your professional and personal lives.
Your devices tell a story. Everything you do online leaves a trace, but it’s not only ourselves that reveal data.
Your past and current behaviour is stored by friends, family, advertising agencies, businesses, and marketing companies. Social media sites also hold a lot of personal data, including photos, movies viewed, songs listened to, plans discussed, and more. Be aware and smart about what information you share online, both personally and professionally.
Online data can be easily accessed and added to by others. This can create a very large picture, your personal attack surface.
It’s a good idea to review your search privacy settings. Your profile preview and timeline will be available for a while as some search engines cache information.
Remember that any information already online will remain archived forever, even after you turn off public search.
Apps and your privacy: WhatsApp is a popular Facebook app, but it has been targeted by cyber criminals because of its popularity. Despite recent security improvements to the app, there are still many reasons you should be cautious when using it.
Did you know that WhatsApp can be installed on Android devices and access other data that you might consider private?
It will automatically add people to your address book, which isn’t a problem in and of itself. However, this can become a privacy issue when you consider that WhatsApp defaults to showing your details (profile photos, status, etc.) to unwanted contacts unless you change them.
Ask yourself why the app asks for your phone number. Perhaps to subscribe to premium services or to send you spam. One thing is certain: most social media services collect information that can be used to market and advertise.
People, processes, and technology: Bruce Schneier, a world-renowned security technologist, popularized this phrase in 1999 to help people understand that Information Security goes beyond relying on IT security systems.
Cyber criminals and fraudsters can get staff members to give information over the telephone, click on a link in an email, or to visit a malicious site, sometimes known as a watering hole.
The Threats: There are many types of threats. Software attacks, thefts of intellectual property, identity thefts, thefts of equipment or information, extortion and terrorism are some of the most prevalent threats we face today.
These examples of threats show that there are many cyberattacks in today’s digital age. But they are often aimed at exploiting and harming the people who use the IT systems, as well as the business processes.
It can happen to them… Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE), discovered in November 2014 that it had been the victim a corporate hacking attack.
Nearly all aspects of Sony’s internal systems were compromised. The repercussions would last months, even years. Sony’s computers were rendered useless and employers were forced back to pen, paper, and the antiquated Fax Machine.
Hackers reportedly flooded Carphone Warehouse with junk traffic in August 2015 as a smokescreen, before breaking into systems and stealing personal details of 2.4million cc