The threat of online security: How safe is our data?

If you think no one would be interested in your personal data, think again. The reality is that anyone can be a victim of data theft like your financial accounts, your credit card records and information, your identify information and your other personal asset. In fact, according to a source which is from the International Federation Trade Commission body, there are more than 50 million victims every year worldwide. It is often difficult to know how thieves obtained their victims' personal information, and while it definitely can happen offline, in many cases start when online data is stolen.

There are dishonest people all around and in the Internet. But you can't judge an online operator's trustworthiness by the look in the eye. It's remarkably simple for online scammers to impersonate a legitimate business, so you need to know whom you're dealing with. If you're shopping online, check out the seller before you buy. A legitimate business or individual seller should give you a physical address and a working telephone number at which they can be contacted in case you have problems.

When it comes to crimes like information theft, you can't entirely control whether you will become a victim. But here are some of the ways that you can minimize your risk while you’re online.

If you're asked for your personal data like your name, email or home address, phone number, bank account numbers, Socso or EPF number. Learn how it is going to be used, and how it will be protected, before you share it.

Don't open unsolicited or unknown email messages. If you do get an email or pop-up message asking for personal information, don't reply or click on the link in the message. Most importantly, do not to respond to solicitations for your personal or financial information.

Example of pop-up message

If you believe there may be a need for such information by a company with whom you have an account or placed an order, contact that company directly in a way you know to be genuine. Never send your personal information via email because email is not a secure transmission method. Most email programs have email filters built-in to the application. Set your email filters, so you can limit the amount of unsolicited email you receive.

If you are shopping online, be careful about providing your personal or financial data through any company's website without taking measures to reduce the risk. There are some indicators that show vendors have taken measures to secure their sites such as a lit lock icon on the browser's status bar or a website URL that begins "https:" (the "s" stands for "secure"). Unfortunately, no indicator is foolproof; some scammers have forged security icons.

Example of webisite where data transfered are secured and protected

Read website privacy policies. They should explain what personal information the website collects, how the information is used, and whether it is provided to third parties. The privacy policy also should tell you whether you have the right to see what information the website has about you, whether they provide or sell your information to third parties, and what security measures the company takes to protect your information. If you don't see a privacy policy or if you can't understand it, please do not proceed with it.

No system in this world is completely secure. If you have important files stored on your computer, copy them onto a removable backup or disc, and store them in a secure place in a different place or building than your computer. If a different location isn't practical, consider encryption software. Encryption software scrambles a message or a file in a way that can be reversed only with a specific password. At the same time, make sure you keep your original software start-up disks handy and accessible for use in the event of an operating system crash.

Example of encryption software