On the occasion of the European Data Protection Day, Assoprovider proposes some strategies to protect one's online privacy.
Today, January 28, is celebrated as the European Data Protection Day established by the Council of Europe to raise awareness among the population and institutions about 'data breach’, namely violations, modification, and unauthorized disclosure of personal data.
A growing problem in Europe and particularly in Italy.
In 2021, in fact, the number of data breach has arrived to over 130,000 in the Old Continent, with a growth of 7.5% compared to the previous year. In Italy, the increase was 13.2%, from 1,574 violations recorded in 2020 to 1,782 in 2021.
Let's find out when and why the European Data Protection Day was established and some strategies to defend against violations.
European Data Protection Day: origins
Let's retrace the history of this day. Established in 2006 by the Council of Europe, it was set for January 28 because on this date the "Convention 108", or the Council of Europe convention for data protection, was opened for signature.
After its initial dissemination within the European Community, today the day is also celebrated globally, generally under the name "Privacy Day".
It is not just a symbolic occasion: organizations in the sector, institutions, and entities are indeed invited to create events, campaigns, debates, educational materials to increase people's awareness of their rights regarding personal data protection.
Read also: Who is and what does the DPO, Data Protection Officer, do?
In this regard, Assoprovider proposes 7 strategies that everyone can adopt to protect their sensitive information online.
- Beware of public Wi-Fi networks
Free Wi-Fi networks are a great thing, but caution is needed when using them. Anyone can indeed use the same network and therefore has easier access to your personal information.
When using a public Wi-Fi network, it is advisable to avoid completing sensitive operations, such as making a purchase on an e-commerce site by entering your card details.
- Use a Tool to discover if your account has been compromised
There are free online tools that allow you to check if a phone number or email address has been compromised. Over the past decades, hundreds of sites have been "hacked" by hackers: this has happened on Facebook, Yahoo, Canva, just to name a few of the most well-known cases.
This means that if you have an account on these social networks or online services, your personal data has probably been shared without your consent.
To verify it, there is the tool "Mi sono state compromesse le credenziali?that cross-references the data entered by the user with a vast database of emails and phone numbers breached over the years. If one's personal data appears on such lists, it is advisable to implement enhanced protection measures, as we will see in the following points.
- Do not write down or remember your passwords
Do you know what the most commonly used passwords in Italy are? ‘123456′, ‘123456789' and ‘password’. Incredible, isn't it? Needless to say, this type of password offers very poor protection for online accounts.
The best way to protect yourself is to avoid writing your own passwords and use a password manager to generate and store your access keys.
To this step, the so-called multifactor authentication must then be added. With this mechanism, the password is accompanied or completely replaced by security codes sent via email or SMS, or by the so-called biometric data (fingerprint, retina, and so on).
- Update everything you can
Updating the operating systems, software, apps, and antivirus programs we use on each device (smartphone, tablet, PC, smart TV, Smart Home devices, and so on) is another fundamental step to ensure the security of one's data.
This is because they often contain updated protections against the latest online security threats.
- Check the permissions of your mobile apps
It has surely happened to you: you download a new app and, when you open it for the first time, it asks for permission to access, for example, your contact list or to use your location.
In many cases, this type of permission has little to do with the app's functionalities and therefore represents an undue intrusion into your sensitive information. It is possible to revoke permissions by accessing the app settings on your device (which obviously vary depending on the device used).
- Always ask why (before providing your personal data)
In the same way that we accept access requests from the apps we download, it often happens that before signing up for a website or requesting certain services/benefits in a physical store (think for example of the classic supermarket loyalty cards), we provide our information without giving it much thought.
We should instead always ask why our data is being requested and how it will be used.
Let's pay particular attention to the boxes we check at the end of a questionnaire (online or offline), which could allow our data to be sent to third parties.
- Relying on Proximity Operators with smart DNS filtering solutions
Antivirus is no longer enough. Online threats are multiplying rapidly, also due to increasingly sophisticated tools like Artificial Intelligence. That's why it's important to equip yourself with solutions smart that in turn employ AI and machine learning to anticipate and block potentially dangerous activities and suspicious domains.
