Whether it is some personal photos, business documents, or the content you’re ready to share on social media, over 80% of our lives are now stored digitally. Information security is a critical part of living in today’s modern world. After the recent cyber attacks, including the outbreak of a ransomware just a few weeks ago, many are more concerned about information security than ever.
So, how well do you secure your digital life? These next few tips and tricks we are about to discuss in this article will give you a head start with information security right away.
A Backup Routine
According to the information assurance program of Norwich University, most people still don’t have a good backup routine as part of their digital lives. While this is borderline acceptable if you only have unimportant files in your hard drives, it is certainly one of the worst things you can do when it comes to securing your digital life.
Having a solid backup routine is critical and it is not as complicated as you think. There are cloud backup solutions that can be fully automated; you just have to sign up for an account, install the companion app, complete the initial setup process, and forget about it. The companion app will handle all the hard work of monitoring folders and automatically upload new and updated files to the cloud.
An offline backup isn’t a bad idea either. In the event of a catastrophic data loss such as when your computer gets infected by ransomware, you can simply format everything, reinstall the operating system, and restore your data in no time.
Security Awareness
The second thing you can do to better secure your digital life is informing yourself about the essential security matters. SSL security, file encryption, and password protection are just some of the security measures you can use to better protect your personal and business files.
Of course, business users need to take things more seriously. Aside from securing data transfers, proper encryption must be put in place so that when information gets stolen, no everyone can access it as easily.
For personal users, it is all about increasing your security awareness. Learn how to spot secured websites and how to check for SSL security before submitting forms or entering payment details. Make sure you don’t share your password and that you use strong ones to protect your accounts too.
A More Secure Future
Most of us don’t really take information security seriously enough, but the other side of the equation – the services and businesses that are part of our digital lives – does. Google starts to prioritize secure sites when presenting search results. Service providers now require stronger passwords as an added measure. We’re looking at a more secure future.
There are even more people pursuing a MSIA degree and helping different industries manage information security better. As the demand for better information security increases, it is just a matter of time before the market responds and implements additional measures to better protect everyone and their digital information.