When we talk about data and network security, either in their professional or personal lives, there is one part of it that I find myself explaining more and more – Digital Hygiene.

Your corporate IST (Information Security Team) can implement excellent firewalls, anti-spam and antivirus scans, intrusion prevention, enforce upgrades and updates. You can also lock down your corporate laptop to the level that you can not install a single program without passwords that are 30 symbols long that require you to insert your ID into a card-reader every time you want to log in. That is all good, but it is not enough – there is also a human factor – YOU, or more specifically, your behaviour.

It’s important to apply some measures to stay safe online  | @divinetechygirl

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So, what is Digital Hygiene? 

There is not a universal term for it, but I will use the same designation that Kersti Kaljulaid (current President of Estonia) said on this matter: Digital Hygiene. The principal is quite simple: if it is not ok in the analogue world, then it is not ok in the digital as well.

5 Security measures to stay “clean”

1. If you think it is not a good idea to broadcast your home address or your children’s date of birth, political views or places you frequent on CNN, why would you post it on Facebook? 

2. If at any point in your life, your work contains anything classified or controversial enough that you would not discuss it with random people on the street, please do not describe it on LinkedIn. 

Sanitise your old memory cards properly before discarding them | @jibarofoto

3. If you know that it not safe to leave private photos (or confidential documents) in a box next to the trash can outside, remember to sanitise your old phone, memory cards/sticks, hard drives and etc. properly before discarding them. 

4. If you would be suspicious about a business offer that you hear from a taxi driver in real life, then use the same approach for anything you see offered online that is not thoroughly verified. 

Credit card fraud is one of the most pervasive form of identity theft | @b0rno

5. Last but not least, If you would never let anyone look at your credit card security code when you are paying for something, then be just as careful with public hotspots. Do not enter credit-cards, personal banking or investment account information from that kind of places. 

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I would like to believe that most of these security measures should be at least common sense. Unfortunately, as a Cybersecurity Expert, I see that this is not always the case. Staying safe online in this modern digital world does not come as naturally for everyone as we would like.