HOW TO PROTECT THE PRIVACY OF YOUR CRUCIAL DATA WHEN ONLINE?

With exponential expansion of internet and mobile telephony, the threat of stalking your screen activities and theft of data of your Personal Identity Information, surfing behaviour, emails, chats, bank account/credit card details, financial transactions, digital wallets, online shopping, etc have become a matter of concern for all. 

Tips to protect your private data:

• Use strong password. If you are not able to remember the passwords (as we have many now a days) and required to write and hide them, devise your own code for some of the letters, digits and special characters to protect the password so that even if it is found, it cannot be deciphered by any one other person except you. For example, code b = t, m = s, @ = &, 3 = 5, 7=1, etc, etc, etc. Hence, your seemingly looking written password BrMgr@3897 is in fact TrSgr&5891. This code can be used for other vital information of credit card, ATM PIN, etc. There can be a few other such innovative ideas for the purpose. Just remember a few characters in your mind and secure  your password.
• Do not use popular password like Qwerty@123, Gen@1234, New@1234, etc.
• Do not use password related to your personal life or the Office Work:  e.g.

-  Personal life: Yoursurname@8675, Yourname&7865, PktY=1998 (Your year of birth), etc.

-  Office Work : HrMgr%4535, AbcLtd+8796, etc.

• Change the password at regular interval.
• Change the password/ATM PIN immediately if it has become known to anybody for any reason.
• Never try to know the crucial private data of other persons, whatever relation you have with the person.
• Keep the images of your identity documents in secured way.
• Bank websites should be opened by typing  the website address  (URL) in the address bar and not by clicking on any links in any e-mail or other websites.

• Restrict the access to your devices by login password / number/ biometrics/ pattern / etc or by keeping, whenever possible, them physically out of the reach of other people. This also applies to other peripherals like pen-drive, removable hard disk, CD, Micro SD Card, etc.
• Take extra care while using public Wi-Fi / Hotspot / Cybercafe / Shared PC, particularly for financial transaction. Connect via VPN if possible.
• Do not use your Administrator Account for routine work on computer even though you are the owner / sole user of the system. Create and use usual User Account for routine work on the system.
• If some person is using your computer very often, create a Guest User account with minimum access to the system.
• Bear in mind that IoTs used in home and workplaces, particularly IP Cameras are also a source of gleaning data leading to loss of privacy to online data mongers.
• Keep the use the Social Media limited to remain in touch with near and dear ones rather than flaunting your new acquisitions, emotions, views, wealth, family photos to Public Audience. Besides, reckless posting can land you in embarrassing situation when you are cornered by a person who takes offence, more particularly the State Authority.
• Give minimum data on social media while creating the account, if it is not for getting a job.
• Be cautious before sharing your Credit Card number, bank a/c details with anyone.
• While creating the a/c on social media, study the Settings and Preferences. Select the Settings limiting the tracking your activities and sharing your data, to the extent possible.
• Do not share your views on sensitive matters. They are a mirror of your personality and preferences.
• Keep away from the patch of links/pop-up windows / dialogue box like “Paid online surveys”, “People also searched for”, “This might interest you”, “Tricks to win a lottery”, “Health Tips You Must Follow”, “Register for Free Vaccine”,  “This Job suits your CV’, etc, etc. This could  be any and many depending upon the craze in the market and need and greed of the people. There is always a catch in the patch. Another traffic diverter ploy used by the bad boys is “Easy Loan Without Any Security”.
• Delete the messages/emails offering you Quick Money like the estate of a wealthy man died without any heir, Double your money in short time, Book your order by paying a small amount and get fabulous discount, etc.
• For net banking / online shopping trust only SECURED websites.
• The email services come with spam filter but still many spam emails infiltrate the fence and lands in the Inbox. Block such email IDs pestering you with phishing.
• Do not open the attachment if the sender is not related to you in any way. Unsolicited emails are fraught with risk of virus/malware.
• Vishing (Voice phishing – fake calls) is also a trap to obtain vital data from the potential victims. Do not get scared if you receive a threatening call to block your Credit Card, Bank a/c or other services. Such callers are good communication artist and trick you to share the data. Just cut the call and contact the Service Provider and report the call. Save the number as CARE FAKE. Caller ID app can be useful to some extent to ascertain the identity of the caller. Discuss the incident with your family members and friends.
• Do not share the OTP received on your mobile/email when the process is initiated by you or even when process is not initiated by you. A conman could seek OTP on your mobile and trick you to share it with him and robe your money.
•  Do  not seek help to set/reset the password, ATM PIN, etc. If you are novice, learn from reliable sources to do the task yourself.
• Do not handover your ATM card / Credit Card / Debit Card to ANYBODY. Such handover might absolve the issuer / bank from any liability of misuse.
• Do not accept friendship with unknown person of opposite gender. In long run, this may lead to embarrassing situation, including blackmailing.
• Update your system / app from time to time as most of the updations provide stronger security features.
• Be selective in subscribing email Alerts and Newsletters. These apparent innocuous offers might have an ulterior motive.
• Log out of the website in a systematic way rather than just clicking on X on right hand top corner.
• Easier said than done but read the privacy policy of the website when you are required to share crucial personal information. If the policy is weak, share bare minimum data as goodness knows where your data would land.
• Use Auto  Log Off / Screen Saver after defined period of inactivity on the system.
• When the access to the system is given to an expert for fixing a glitch or for any other reason, keep your watchful eyes on your screen and keep track of what the  expert is doing with the system.

Feel concerned?

If yes, you have, for having read this blog, invested your time meaningfully. Whatever private policy the communication platforms have, you must have your own Policy when online : Be careful (nearly a  skeptic) and tread cautiously. If you do not act responsibly, sorry to say, you cannot hold other people or the system responsible for the loss you suffer. Moreover, acquire basic knowledge of all these platforms to understand their intricacy. Though the risk is there, life is difficult for a modern man to live without internet, mobile and Social Media. You are the most important person to prevent the erosion of the privacy of your crucial data.

   Though we know about the lurking dangers of this theft when we bask in the maze of Social Media, internet and mobile telephony, it is difficult for a modern man to live without them. Despite tall claims of the robustness of the system by the vendor, there are incidents the system is breached in by the hackers. They are more dangerous than a pickpocket as they can penetrate the firewall of computer algorithm and architecture, while hiding away in a swanky office in a city or a dusty village like Jamtara or a small hamlet in Nigeria. At times, the employees and ex-employees are exploited to hack the system. The personal vital data has become a vital commodity traded for profit in I T world. General perception in the mind of a common man about vital data is confined to Login ID, Sign-on Password, Transaction Password, ATM PIN, Credit Card Number, its C V V, etc. It is not so. 

      The hackers are datamining the social media for your mobile number, contacts, location, preferences, I D Proofs, Bank a/c details, Passport and Visa details, etc. They sell the softcopy of the data to their allies down the line in the racket for hard cash. The attack on your vital data can be covert or overt taking benefit of man’s innate succeptibity to weaknesses : Greed, carelessness, attraction to opposite gender, prey to emotional appeals, blind trust, impatience and the latest one just “Click OK, OK, OK and SUBMIT”, etc. At times,  their modus operandi is so subtle that it does not let you feel the sting.

It cannot be gainsaid that netizens were oblivious of the inherent risk of theft of Personal Identity Information and online cheating while communicating or dealing through electronic media. Now the anxiety is only heightened as the issue is brought to limelight by the proposed changes in the Privacy Policy of a major player  in Social Media, if the user clicks AGREE. Without dwelling much on these recent developments and turbulence it has created, the present blog attempts to discuss the issue and tips on HOW TO PROTECT THE PRIVACY OF DATA while using social media, internet or mobile by a common man with basic computer literacy (as the issues and tips for the businesses would be a different ball game). We should accept that the risk is real and has become greater than ever with the advent of Social Media in all spheres of life. Secondly, we should think about the motives of the service providers behind the free services. At times, the providers of such services themselves might not be targeting the users but the external perpetrators of the fraud intercept your data. Data encryption of the content provides some protection to users but still there is a risk to your meta data (your personal information and your Behaviour/ preferences as a media user). Technology provides many smart ways of keeping your screen under surveillance without giving any clue to you.   

            Let us also accept that the use of social media  has become more of an addiction than necessity across the society. We enjoy all sorts of FREE functionalities offered by them every moment and erode our privacy. As a tradeoff, we allow (rather, have to if you want to avail wide array of services) all accesses to our location, photos, camera, documents, contacts, emails, etc. At times wider access is also for good reasons   for the apps / social media to serve you better e.g. a taxi app needs your location to pick you up. Reputed social media might not fleece you by swindling your money but they still have a motive in collecting your data for furthering their interests and strengthening their clout. Artificial Intelligence and Analytics can draw commercially, politically and socially valuable inferences from the stockpile of data harvested online. Now a days, most of the devices (PC, laptop, mobile phone, tab, etc) have  most of the  functionalities and data are shared/synced and same devices are used for just killing the time for fun and also for office work, which make your data more vulnerable. The task of intruder becomes easy if you have, while crating the account, granted the access permissions liberally which we perfunctorily do without availing the functionalities of various restrictions and preferences provided in the Settings. It is not the lack of knowledge but behaviour makes the gullible users sitting ducks.

Get more tips on data security on  www.gujaratinfotech.com

                    (The readers’ comments are welcome at gnpatel@gujaratinfotech.com)