Data Privacy Week

In case you missed it, last week was Data Privacy Week. Data Privacy Week is an effort to empower both individuals and businesses to safeguard their data. Data Privacy has become increasing important over the last years, due to the amount of data being generated on a daily basis. We live in a digital wolrd and data is accessible everywhere. Caught in the wrong hands though, it can be very disruptive you personally, your family or even your business.

The theme this year was Take control of Your Data. We all have smart phones, tablets, smart watches, laptops, even smart TVs and those are all things that collect and use our data. They collect data on our daily behaviors, our shopping habits, our health and even photos of us. We deserve to be able to manage our data the best we can, on the technology we use. So this year is about learning to manage your data. Take a look at some ways you can do that below!

Protect your data.

This is all about cybersecurity and may be simple steps you’ve heard before. Make sure you’re using complex passwords, that are unique with various characters. It’s also important to never reuse passwords, and every site and device should have a different one. Another good thing to enable is multi-factor authentication. That is another layer of protection in case your account of device is compromised. Lastly, stay up to date on spotting phishing emails, texts and calls. Know what to look for and know how people and businesses typically interact with you.

Adjust your privacy settings.

All the apps and devices we use have privacy and security settings. We know it’s easy to check the box to scroll on Instagram, but do you really know what’s in that agreement? You may have a lot of accounts, but it is worth it go through and see what the levels are set to and what type of data your apps and sites are sharing.

Understand the difference between convenience and privacy.

If you go to a new site, create a new account or download a new app, often times, you’re asked to agree to the privacy terms before continuing to the site or app. This type of data your agreeing to be shared can include location, contacts and photos, among other things. If you’re able to adjust those setting before using the account, you should do that at your own comfort level. If there’s no option, you should weigh the risk of giving up your personal data to a new site before continuing.

Have questions about data protection and privacy? We can help guide you! Reach out to us today!