Can you imagine a world without the internet? Neither can I. We are very dependent on the internet for everything; from shopping, connecting with friends, and even submitting school assignments. But we cannot ignore the personal privacy and security risks.
When we shop, websites require us to enter a lot of personal data or personally identifiable information (PII), including our name, email address, phone number, and credit card information. While the companies promise us that the website is secure, there have been a lot of data breaches. A data breach is when information is stolen from a system without authorization. Data breaches are the result of hacking or malware attacks. When a system is “hacked”, your information is stolen. The stolen information is either used illegally or sold to another party. According to CSO hundreds of millions of accounts have been exposed.
While we cannot control a company’s security measures, there are some steps to limit our exposure.
· Verify that you are on a legitimate website.
· Don’t click on an email or text message that takes you to a website. Instead manually enter the URL website in your browser.
· Look for “https” in the URL and a padlock icon in the address bar, indicating that the site is secure with SSL (Secure Sockets Layer).
· Check the address bar to confirm that the website is spelled correctly. An example is when an illegitimate website might use a zero rather than an uppercase “O” or a “1” rather than a lowercase “l” in their name.
· Check the domain name. The domain name should only have one “.com” “.org” “.net” not ae.com/pants/account.ae.org (fake link) for American Eagle.
· Check for grammar and spelling errors.
· Check for the website’s privacy policy. Most companies provide a privacy policy as well as an unsubscribe option at the bottom of the page. If this does not exist, then the website may be questionable.
By taking the time to check out a website and confirm that it is legitimate, you can significantly reduce the risk of identity theft and other security threats.