The inaugural Identity Management Day is coming up on April 13, 2021, mark your calendars! This special day aims to educate and spread knowledge about the danger of casually or improperly managing and securing digital identities by raising awareness, sharing best practices, and leveraging the support of vendors in the identity security space. All women in business can benefit from safe and best practices to protect their, and their organization’s online identity.
Most data breaches you read about, are the result of poor identity management. Twitter, Marriott, Nintendo…the list goes on. These breaches often leverage weak identity management, such as weak or previously compromised passwords, not leveraging multi-factor authentication and single sign-on or leaving standing privileges open.
For consumers, identity management is the discipline of protecting our personal digital identities as we communicate, shop, and transact our daily lives online. For individuals, poor password hygiene and careless online behavior can lead to compromised accounts or identity theft. These incidents occur when we use weak passwords, fail to enable two-factor authentication, or carelessly click on malicious links. Here are some tips and resources to make the best of this annual awareness day and better protect yourself and your organization online.
Tips for businesswomen for safe online identity management
Think before you click: If something seems too good to be true by text, or email, don’t rush to click on the link. First, check the company’s website to make sure it’s legit.
Is it “Phishy”: If you aren’t clear who sent the email, but it looks a little familiar, don’t reply and don’t click on the links or open any accompanying attachments.
Share like you truly care: Think before posting about yourself and others online. Consider what a post reveals, who might see it and how it might affect you or others. Consider creating an alternate persona that you use for online profiles to limit how much of your own personal information you share.
Lock down your login: Create long and original passphrases for all accounts and use multifactor authentication (MFA) wherever possible. An MFA will strengthen your online accounts by enabling the strongest authentication tools available. Use password managers to generate and remember different, complex passwords for each of your accounts.
Free WIFI comes at a price: Public wireless networks are not secure. Anyone could potentially see what you are doing on your laptop or smartphone while you are connected to them. Limit what you do on public WiFi and avoid logging in to key accounts like email and bank accounts. Consider using a virtual private network (VPN) or a personal/mobile hotspot if you need a more secure connection.
Keep a clean machine: Keep all software on internet connected devices – including personal computers, smartphones and tablets – current to reduce risk of infection from ransomware and malware. Configure your devices to automatically update or to notify you when an update is available.
Own your online presence: Every time you sign up for a new account, download a new app, or get a new device, immediately configure the privacy and security settings to your comfort level for information sharing. Regularly check these settings (at least once a year) to make sure they are still configured to your comfort.
For more resources and info visit the National Cyber Security Alliance website by clicking here.T