The Internet has made our life effortless. Whereas, excess use of anything surely brings in some negative impact and that of the internet is no exception. In recent times, data breaches are daunting every organization. The Data Security Council of India (DSCI) has reported that India holds second place among the most cyber-attacked countries. Also, a survey carried out by Forcepoint and Frost & Sullivan states that about 69 percent of Indian organizations are at a data breach risk, while 44 percent has already encountered data breaches and 25 percent are failing to execute breach risk assessment. According to IBM reports, the data breach has cost Indian organizations about 12.8 crore in a year. But this cannot mark an end to the internet usage, as it has become an integral part of our life. People usually think that internet safety is only meant for big shots, while some may be over cautious to share any of their information online and avoid using even the basic facilities such as money transfer, ticket booking and so on. But, internet usage is inevitable in this digital age and it is important to take necessary precautions to protect themselves from intruders. Let's check out a few tips to secure our personal data from cybercriminals.

Data Encryption

The data encryption may sound complex and induce a feeling that only a technically sound person can opt for it. But, that is not true. Individuals can encrypt their data by using programs like Full Disk Encryption and File Vault for Windows 10 and Mac respectively, which encrypts the data on the computer. These programs would provide access to the encrypted information only to the one who has a unique encryption key. 

2FA (Two-Factor Authentication)

Even after strictly following the password rules and setting a secure password, the passwords could be easily cracked in a few attempts. Hence, it's always wise for users to opt for two-factor authentication. This 2FA would provide extra layer of protection to online accounts. Several renowned services such as Yahoo, Twitter and Google already use 2FA.

Stabilizing Social Media Accounts

Social media accounts are more prone to data breaches; especially, when a person has accounts in numerous social media sites with same or similar passwords. In such cases, it is mandatory to have a distinct password for each account. It could be difficult to remember all the login credentials but privacy is more important. Alongside, changing the password frequently would reduce the chances of breaches. Furthermore, a password manager could be used to set a secure password. 

Protecting Smartphones

Currently, smartphones tend to gather a lot of our personal information, even without our knowledge. However, today mobiles play a vital role in our daily activities, and it is hard to be cautious every time they are used. Still, practicing certain steps such as avoiding open networks, ignoring suspicious links, updating the mobile software often, using trusted applications alone, and switching off Bluetooth when not in use would bring down the data breaches.

Securing the Wi-Fi

It is always ideal to secure Wi-Fi networks with secure passwords. This would keep the unauthorized access at bay.

These are a few simple and most basic tips for online data security. Following these steps would secure your personal information to a vast extent. It is famously said that prevention is always better than cure; hence, it is ideal to implement safety measures.

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