Celebrate Data Privacy Week by remembering best practices

Tara Stone & Bailey Troutman, CCIT Communications
January 23, 2024

From January 21-27, 2024, Data Privacy Week is celebrated as a reminder to ensure you practice due diligence about your online footprint. This celebration, in addition to Cybersecurity Awareness Month in October, invites us to reflect and remember how we can safeguard ourselves and our institutions against threats or compromises with data.

Here is a short list of reminders for this week, and each day:

1. Create unique, long passwords! Strong passwords are at least 12 characters long and include letters, numbers and symbols. And, yes, you should have a unique password for each online account. Sounds hard to remember? That takes us to our next tip…
2. Use a password manager! Ditch the notebook and the Notes app. Instead, the simplest, most secure way to manage unique passwords is through a password manager application. Many are free. Often, browsers and device operating systems already include password managers.
3. Use Duo 2FA! Two-factor authentication (2FA, for short) asks individuals for a secondary confirmation of their identity at log in using a physical device in their possession (via app or text message). Passwords are essential for security and privacy, but they are often not enough. 2FA acts as an added layer of security to prevent anyone else from accessing your account.
4. Think before you click! What’s the most common way for cybercriminals to get your sensitive information? It’s when you click on something you shouldn’t have. Malicious links in email, texts, posts, and social media messages are a direct way for hackers to get your sensitive information.
5. Use a VPN! Public wireless networks and hotspots are unsecured, which means that anyone could potentially see what you are doing on your laptop or smartphone while you are connected to them. Use Clemson’s virtual private network (VPN) to establish a secure connection.

Remember, if you want to be aware of what types of scams are happening on campus or are hoping for reminders about best practices, you are encouraged to frequently visit CCIT’s Cybersecurity Alerts page.