Q. Data Privacy Day is Sunday. As a small business owner what should I know about Data Privacy?
A. Data Privacy Day brings together businesses and private citizens to share the best strategies for protecting consumers' private information. We all share a lot of information when we use the internet. Our devices communicate with us - and with each other - for ease of shopping, banking, travel arrangements, and keeping in touch with friends.
When online, it's important to safeguard your data to help avoid scams, fraud, and identity theft. The Better Business Bureau, bbb.org and the National Cyber Security Alliance, staysafeonline.org, offer the following tips to help secure the privacy of your critical information:
» Share with care. What you post can last a lifetime, so think about who will see your posts and photos, how they will be perceived, and what information they reveal about you.
Jim Winsett of the BBB. » Own your online presence. Set the privacy and security settings on web services and devices to your comfort level for information sharing. It's OK to limit how and with whom you share information.
» Value your personal information. Think of your personal information like money: value and protect it. Be careful what sites you visit and be sure you are on a legitimate site before entering personal information. Be especially wary of communications that implore you to act immediately, offer something that sounds too good to be true, or ask for personal information.
» Make your passwords long and strong. Use long passwords with a combination of upper and lower case letters, numbers, and symbols - eight characters for most accounts, twelve characters for email and financial accounts. Don't use the same password for multiple accounts, especially email and financial. Keep a paper list of your passwords in a safe place, not on or near your computer. Consider using a password vault application.
» Lock down your login. For your online accounts, use the strongest authentication tools available. Your user names and passwords are not enough; consider two-factor authentication for key accounts like email, banking, and social media, especially for access on mobile devices.
» Don't click on unfamiliar links. Whether at home or at work, don't click on links from unfamiliar sources or unexpected correspondence. One false click can infect a whole computer or a whole business.
» Pay attention to your Internet of Things devices. Smart thermostats, voice control systems, cars, even refrigerators are just the beginning of the growing list of devices that watch our homes and track our location. Read the privacy policy and understand what data is being collected and how it will be used.
Jim Winsett is president of the Better Business Bureau in Chattanooga.