Good practices in digital devices: protection, encryption, backups

Nowadays, technology is increasingly present in our lives, in our jobs, our routines and in our homes. There are many digital devices that accompany us in our daily lives. The ease of using them and the speed of internet connection means that we are progressively increasing our time on them.  According to the La Caixa report on Personal well-being and the use of technology in confinement, 70% of those surveyed recognise that they use their mobiles for many more hours than before. The downside of this is that cyber-attacks on digital devices have also increased.

The easy availability of internet connectivity offered by these devices and the resulting digitalisation of more and more areas of our lives are the main causes of exposure to cyber-attacks. Although we may not realise it, we leave a lot of information on the internet, such as personal data, bank details and even sensitive information about our customers or companies.

Businesses play a very important role as guardians of customers' personal information, as receiving a cyber-attack would not only jeopardise the security of our business, but could also seriously affect the privacy of our users.

The disadvantages of digital devices are that they usually have several security deficiencies related to data collection, authenticity mechanisms or information encryption.  According to Incibe, there are different types of risks to which we can be exposed on a daily basis:

• Attacks or abuses: these include computer programmes designed to cause damage or theft of information, targeted attacks over a prolonged period, and modifying and manipulating information to cause damage or obtain some economic benefit.

• Interception or hijacking: involves attacking and stealing information by intercepting communications.

• Downtime: loss of access to services, interruption or failure of supply in the network. 

• Damage or loss: refers to data filtering.

• Failures or malfunctions: related to weak passwords or software and configuration errors.

• Disasters: relate to natural and environmental disasters that may physically affect devices.

• Physical attacks: these include theft, vandalism and physical manipulation of equipment to cause damage.

We already know the various security risks from digital devices. So how can we protect the security of our company and users?

Here are some security measures and best practices to make your SME less exposed and reduce the vulnerability of your devices.

1. Physical protection.

These measures are designed to protect your company's information in the event of a breakdown or loss of a device, or if someone manages to access the stored information from the device.

Hardware protection: these are protection measures to preserve and maintain the physical components that our devices need to function, such as USB, hard disk, etc.

Data protection: it is important to protect our data from being used for fraudulent purposes.

Security measures you can apply for the physical security of your digital devices:

• Lock your device when you are not using it.
• Do not leave important information or personal data open.
• keep an eye on your digital devices.
• Store devices that store sensitive information in secure locations to prevent data corruption.
• Install anti-theft or device loss apps.

2. Encryption

Now we will tell you how to protect the information we store on our devices.

To protect the information and files on your system, we recommend encrypting it. Encryption is a process that scrambles a message or file so that only certain people can read it with a key. This way, even if someone wants to get your files, they won't be able to open them if they don't know the key.

In addition to devices, you should also encrypt the information you store on hard drives or USB sticks, as removable memory devices make it easier for information to be stolen.

3. Back-up copies.

The function of backup copies is to duplicate the information from one device to another in case we ever need to recover it. However, for companies this process is very important, as the loss of any type of information can be essential for the business. There are several options where you can store your backup, such as on hard drives or in the cloud.

Devices have several risks, as well as being susceptible to breakdowns, so frequent backups will save you from more than one worry.

Nowadays, digital devices have become indispensable, which means that our company's and our clients' information is exposed on the network. For this reason, it is essential that we carry out certain security measures to avoid possible threats, or in the case of an attack, that it affects us as little as possible.