Data Protection Tips: How to Keep Your Passwords, Financial & Personal Information Safe in 2020

Keeping your passwords, financial, and other personal information safe and protected from outside intruders has long been a priority of businesses, but it’s increasingly critical for consumers and individuals to heed data protection advice and use sound practices to keep your sensitive personal information safe and secure. There’s an abundance of information out there for consumers, families, and individuals on protecting passwords, adequately protecting desktop computers, laptops, and mobile devices from hackers, malware, and other threats, and best practices for using the Internet safely. But there’s so much information that it’s easy to get confused, particularly if you’re not tech-savvy. We’ve compiled a list of 101 simple, straightforward best practices and tips for keeping your family’s personal information private and protecting your devices from threats.

Encrypt your data

Data encryption isn’t just for technology geeks. Modern tools make it possible for anyone to encrypt emails and other information. Many of the public tools that are available have taken the complexity of encryption out of the equation. GPG for Mail, for example, is an open source plug-in for the Apple Mail program that makes it easy to encrypt, decrypt, sign and verify emails using the OpenPGP standard. And for protecting files, newer versions of Apple’s OS X operating system come with FileVault, a program that encrypts the hard drive of a computer. Those running Microsoft Windows have a similar program. This software will scramble your data, but won’t protect you from government authorities demanding your encryption key under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (2000), which is why some aficionados recommend TrueCrypt, a program with some very interesting facilities.

The cloud is the most viable backup option right now

While you should use sound security practices when you’re making use of the cloud, it can provide an ideal solution for backing up your data. Since data is not stored on a local device, it’s easily accessible even when your hardware becomes compromised. Cloud storage, where data is kept offsite by a provider, is a guarantee of adequate disaster recovery.

Use anti-malware

Malware is a serious issue plaguing many a computer user, and it’s known for cropping up in inconspicuous places, unnoticed by users. Anti-malware protection is essential for laying a foundation of security for your devices. Malware is software designed to infiltrate or damage a computer without your consent. Malware includes computer viruses, worms, trojan horses, spyware, scareware and more. It can be present on websites and emails, or hidden in downloadable files, photos, videos, freeware or shareware. The best way to avoid getting infected is to run a good anti-virus protection program, do periodic scans for spyware, and avoid clicking on suspicious email links or websites.

Make your old computers’ hard drives unreadable.

A lot of information can be obtained through old devices, but you can protect your personal data by making hard drives unreadable before disposing of them. After you back up your data and transfer the files elsewhere, you should sanitise via a process called disk shredding, magnetically cleaning the disk, or using software to wipe the disk clean. Destroy old computer disks and backup tapes.

Want to learn more and become a professional? Join Global Edulink’s online prorammes and study from home to receive an accredited certificate. Here are some of our courses that you can choose from.

CERTIFIED INCIDENT HANDLER (ECIH)

Would you like to learn to handle security incidents efficiently within a structured organisation? You can qualify as an Incident Handler and learn to identify, analyse and prevent incidents. An incident response team often deals with incidents within an organisation. The primary goal of dealing with incidents is to retain business processes. Build a solid understanding of computer security and how to tackle incidents with the course in EC-Council Certified Incident Handler. It is perfect for any individual who aspires to take on job roles in computer and network security.

The course is extensive and covers a range of key modules such as introduction to incident handling and response, incident handling and response process, responding to network security incidents, responding to email security incidents and responding to insider threats. Each module is discussed in-depth ensuring learners gain a firm understanding of incident handling and response.

EC-Council Certified Incident Handler is designed to equip you with the fundamental skills to handle computer security incidents and respond effectively. Once qualified in this course, you will become a skilled professional at dealing with a wide array of computer security incidents such as network incidents, inside attack threats and malicious code incidents.

This course in EC-Council Certified Incident Handler will enhance your opportunities for a number of jobs in the IT and security industries. The qualification will demonstrate your expertise in cyber-security skills proving to potential employers that you will be a valuable asset to the organisation. You can also use this certificate as an opportunity to win various job incentives put forth by your employer or to study further in the area and improve your knowledge in security information. Below given are few of the jobs this certificate will help you in, along with the average UK salary per annum according to http://payscale.com/

Penetration Testers
Network Administrators
System Administrators
Engineers
IT Managers
Network Managers
Application Security Engineers

DISASTER RECOVERY PROFESSIONAL (EDRP)

Gain a foundation in disaster recovery, learn to identify vulnerabilities and take appropriate measures to mitigate risks in an organisation. The course in Disaster Recovery Professional provides a great opportunity to pursue your career goals in the area. The course is comprehensive and will focus on the disaster recovery principles, preparation plan for disaster recovery, developing policies and procedures and recovering from disaster. You will learn to assess risks in an enterprise, learn the role and relationships of individuals in an organisation and how to implement a plan to recover from disaster.

The course is extensive and will explore a range of key modules such as an introduction to disaster recovery, risk assessment, data backup strategies, data recovery strategies and business continuing planning. Each module is discussed in-depth ensuring learners gain a sound understanding of developing business continuity plans.

The Disaster Recovery Professional will give you a firm grasp of the fundamentals of disaster recovery and business continuity. Qualifying in this course will lead to opening the door to gaining numerous opportunities in this field in a number of high-paying job roles.

This course in Disaster Recovery Professional will enhance your qualification for a number of jobs in the IT and disaster recovery fields. The qualification demonstrates your skills and expertise in disaster recovery plans proving to potential employers that you will be a valuable asset to the organisation. You can also use this certificate as an opportunity to win various job incentives put forth by your employer or to study further in the area and improve your knowledge in business continuity and disaster recovery. Below given are few of the jobs this certificate will help you in, along with the average UK salary per annum according to http://payscale.com/