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Securing Your Digital Space

Take Charge of Your Data

I recently discovered Data Privacy Week and, as a budding security researcher and student, I thought this would be a great opportunity for my first write-up. Most people don’t think about their data privacy or how they’re tracked online every day. There are plenty of jokes about Chinese spies on TikTok or Facebook seemingly reading minds for ad targeting, but few people take their digital privacy seriously.

With that in mind, I want to raise awareness about a tool that has helped me become more conscious of my own data security: the Personal Security Checklist. This interactive guide is an excellent resource for securing your digital life and protecting your privacy.

The Tool

Digital Defense is structured into multiple categories, each with its own checklist to help users improve their security:

  • Authentication: Secure your credentials

  • Web Browsing: Reduce tracking, censorship, and data collection

  • Email: Protect the gateway to all of your accounts

  • Messaging: Keep communications private and secure

  • Social Media: Minimize risks from social accounts

  • Networks: Protect network traffic

  • Mobile Devices: Reduce tracking on devices like phones and tablets

  • Personal Computers: Secure PCs from tracking and data collection

  • Smart Home: Secure IoT devices and reduce privacy risks

  • Personal Finance: Protecting financial accounts

  • Human Aspect: Safeguarding from social-engineering

  • Physical Security: Preventive IRL methods

Each checklist is further divided into three priority levels: Basic, Optional, and Advanced. This allows users to assess their personal threat level and apply security measures accordingly, while also seeing recommendations for more advanced protection. Additionally, users can choose to ignore specific suggestions, and a progress bar tracks the percentage of completed tasks within each category. Remember this is just a guide and you only have to do the steps you are comfortable with or feel are necessary.

My Progress

Digital Privacy Guide Screenshot

As you can see I have completed 85 out of the 255 items in the guide.

Aditional Best Practices

Data privacy and security can be done with a couple simple actions if this checklist is too overwhelming. I suggest at the minimum following the core four:

  • Create long passwords of at least 15 characters a special symbol and a number. These passwords should be unique for every account and stored in a Password Manager.

  • Use Multifactor Authentication (MFA) everywhere possible and if you can use an authenticator application as SMS and Email codes can be intercepted and spoofed.

  • Update devices regularly.

  • Recognize Phishing attempts and report them.

Stay safe out there on the web and feel free to give me some feedback on Mastodon @xenenon@infosec.exchange