People are obsessed with their privacy nowadays. There’s passcodes for Venmo, Incognito mode for your browser, ghost mode for Snapchat, and 2-step verification for any account login. Heck, a phone has to recognize its owners face just to let them preview a text message.
All of these tangible or visual privacy measures can lead people to a misconstrued sense of security as they forget about remote sources of danger that may invade their cyberspace from afar.
When people ponder the importance of cybersecurity they often think of protecting credit card numbers and passwords. Keeping your personal data secure is obviously crucial for these common target sources for hackers, but other unconventional, frequently forgotten areas of personal data can also be valuable in the struggle for confidentiality. Maybe you’ve got a genius business idea in your notes app that you haven’t gotten around to patenting. Or perhaps you have your office’s entry code written in an email somewhere deep within your inbox. The list of valuable data to protect is endless.
Defending your privacy is a no-brainer when you consider the physical manifestations of the virtual data on your personal devices. You wouldn’t leave the printed copies of the photos on your camera roll just flapping in the breeze. Nor would you share every conversation you have via text as a tweet on Twitter. If opening someone else’s mail is a federal offense then it makes sense that your email should be well-guarded. Sadly, it is all too easy to unintentionally compromise the privacy of one of these many areas of everyday personal data.
Take location tracking, for instance. Everything from Google Maps to Snapchat asks permission to use your location. The same can not be said for hackers; you can be sure that a stranger who is looking to prey on your personal data will not be so kind as to ask for consent when following you from afar. The ways for hackers to track your location are a dime a dozen. With the slightest misstep when using your BlueTooth or adjusting location settings, you may unintentionally divulge your whereabouts to strangers tapping into your device’s signal remotely.
Some may argue that a mindful presence in the digital sphere can allow users to evade the pitfalls that can lead to a security breach. However, it’s basically impossible to keep your devices free of personal or private information in this day and age. No matter how vigilant you may personally be in your pursuit to keep your digital presence devoid of sensitive information, there is still the possibility that something may slip through the cracks and leave you vulnerable to intrusion. Privacy doesn’t have to involve highly sensitive materials or government secrets. It can concern keeping your garage code safe or certain addresses secure. All data matters.
The importance of privacy can hardly be overstated. Today’s cyber climate requires mindful consideration of how your personal life may slip into the digital world. Confidence in confidentiality empowers people to act freely in their day to day interactions with the peace of mind that their privacy is preserved. There is a wide range of solutions to create a world in which you can feel secure that you’re protected from digital threats. Perhaps you begin by being more mindful of the digital spaces you frequent or using an EDEC Faraday bag so you can may hop completely off the grid with ease. There are many different paths to a more secure future.