Guard Your Customers' Privacy and Data Through Changes in Behaviour

By Priya E. Abraham

One of the biggest advantages of working as a digital nomad or solopreneur is the unprecedented amount of freedom. You can work from almost anywhere that you are able to take a laptop or digital device. The world is truly your workplace. But with this freedom comes greater responsibility for the cybersecurity of your business and the privacy of your customers.
In the post-digital age, with more than 1 billion data breaches in 2018, we’ve seen that the technology-only cybersecurity solution provider has clearly failed.
So then how can remote workers ensure that their business is protected at all times against data breaches and guard the privacy of their customers?  

Human Behaviour as the Weakest Link

At the end of the day, it’s not technology that can be blamed; it’s human behaviour. We are the weakest link in this game. The upside to this is that as a brand of one, there are data and privacy strategies that include daily actions and behaviour entirely within your control. These will allow you to reclaim your cyberstrength and boost your cyberpower while ensuring your customers that they can trust you with their data and information.  
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Here are a few of these behaviours you can easily implement for your business: 

• Use strong and unique passwords in addition to a Virtual Private Network (VPN). Although you shouldn’t use public WiFi if at all possible, remote working sometimes makes this impossible. A VPN can increase the safety of your public surfing by allowing you to surf the web anonymously and securely from anywhere, keeping your customer’s data private and ensuring it is safe from cybercriminals and hackers. But be careful – not all VPNs are equal! Some leak, so do some research and find one that is reliable before using it.
• Think twice before posting anything on social media as it can be used for social engineering and data breaches. If you want to use social media that have better privacy agreements than Facebook, like Twitter or Reddit, consider having accounts that are anonymous and private and don’t provide personal information about yourself.
• Provide internet service providers (ISPs) with the minimum information possible. The only way to ensure that they don’t leak your data is if they don’t have it. In addition, you can take extra steps to stop your ISP from tracking you: use HTTPS, using VPNs that don’t log your online access, adjust your DNS and use an anonymous browser such as TOR or Brave. 

Staying Safe and Secure on the Road

​For digital nomads and solopreneurs, digital safety and security on the road is of utmost importance.
Here are a few tips for ensuring safety wherever you travel: 

• Do your best not to be a target – When you travel, be careful not to wear expensive clothing or accessories in notoriously unsafe neighbourhoods. Not sure which neighbourhoods are safe? There are a number of online services that rank countries and region for their safety that you can consult. In addition, you should also make sure to never leave your computer unattended and keep your devices in the hotel room in a safe or with people you really trust.
• Always have an extra device wherever you travel – Whether it’s just an old phone or tablet, make sure that you have a backup device and that you keep it in a safe place at all times. In the event of an emergency, you will need it to communicate to your clients about the short delay.
• Create regular backups – If you want to be prepared in the midst of an attack, you’ll need to have ready all of the latest work you did for clients. If you regularly backup your work, you’ll never be in a situation where you have to pay ransom to a hacker or an exorbitant fee to an expert to de-encrypt your data. Either use a cloud service or an external disc to save these backups.
• Use `Find My Device.’ This is an Apple feature that can locate your device if it is lost, misplaced or stolen. Windows and Android have similar features as well. This only works while your device is online, however. If it’s offline you can still put it in lost mode, lock it or erase it remotely. 

Reclaim Your Cyberstrength and Boost Your Cyberpower

As we’ve shown in the tips in this post, you can combine tech solutions with adjustments in human behaviour to safeguard your business and protect your brand. Ultimately, the data and privacy strategies you choose as the head of cybersecurity of your business are your choice and your sole responsibility. Develop the cyber self-awareness you need to become resilient to attacks or data breaches, and you’ll have greater trust from your customers that their data is safe wherever you are in the world and no matter what the circumstance.

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