Just like brushing your teeth or washing your hands regularly, digital hygiene should be second nature to most of us – except it’s not. What most people think is enough will do little to protect you against the advanced nature of cybercrime, an ever-evolving threat.
Digital hygiene is about cultivating habits that keep your digital life healthy and secure. In our highly connected world, you want peace of mind so you can prevent or quickly detect and resolve problems with your devices. Digital hygiene is crucial for individuals and organizations as it provides the first line of defense against a wide range of cyber threats, including data breaches, malware and phishing attacks.
Just as personal hygiene helps prevent illness, good digital hygiene practices prevent security vulnerabilities from being exploited. For organizations, these habits reduce the risks of operational disruptions, reputational damage and financial losses from cyberattacks.
Evolving threats require better defenses
Unfortunately, what worked before is no longer enough due to the increasing complexity and sophistication of cyber threats. In the early days of the Internet, simple antivirus software and password protection were often enough to prevent cyberattacks. However, the digital landscape is now filled with advanced threats such as ransomware, deepfakes, AI-enhanced phishing and zero-day exploits – the latter leaving vendors with no time to prepare patches as vulnerabilities are exploited upon their discovery.
As more devices come online and remote working becomes more prevalent, cybercriminals gain more entry points to exploit. This makes it essential for individuals and businesses to adopt more comprehensive and layered security measures, including multi-factor authentication, regular software updates and monitoring.
What constitutes good digital hygiene
Good digital hygiene starts with anti-malware software and regularly updating your software. Next, you should use strong and unique passwords. Be deliberate in creating long, unique passwords for each account and use a password manager to store them securely. (Most password managers will generate strong passwords for you.)
Next, enable multi-factor authentication (MFA). Traditional MFA typically requires a password as well as a second factor, such as a code sent to your phone via text message or generated by an app. However, this method is vulnerable to phishing attacks, where someone tricks you into revealing your code. Phish-resistant MFA provides stronger protection using methods that are difficult to intercept or replicate, such as physical security keys or biometric authentication (fingerprint or facial recognition). With these methods, only you can log in, even if someone has obtained your password.
Finally, be careful when sharing personal information over the phone or online, especially on social media or unfamiliar websites. Pair this with regularly backing up your important files to a secure location, such as an external hard drive or a reputable cloud service, and your digital hygiene will be significantly improved.
What does poor digital hygiene look like? One of the laziest habits I’ve encountered is using the same password for all accounts – often something predictable like a pet’s name plus a year of birth. While this may not be crucial for news websites, it is a major risk for large accounts. Your email, social media, work, and financial accounts really need strong, unique passwords combined with multi-factor authentication.
I once heard someone say that he didn’t mind cybercriminals hacking his email account because he “had nothing to hide.” This completely misses the point. Not only can your email be used to reset passwords for your other accounts, but attackers can also exploit it to spread malware and launch attacks against people on your network who trust you.
What can organizations do?
Organizations can promote good digital hygiene by cultivating a culture of security awareness through training and regular communications. Key strategies include ongoing security awareness training to help employees recognize threats like phishing and social engineering, establish clear policies on online behavior and data manipulation, and lead by example thanks to executives’ adherence to security practices. Regular exercises, such as simulated phishing, compliance incentives, and personalization of cybersecurity benefits, will further encourage strong and consistent participation.
By Anna Collard
