Digital Footprint Awareness Makes Me Online Introvert
I have been accustomed to an IT industry for decades.
The perks of working in this business, I have a chance to get to know new technologies expeditiously regardless of my non-technical background. That has made me become aware of digital footprint and how facile it can be traced.
What is Digital Footprint? Why it’s important?
Photo: Inorbital
Digital footprint has quite a direct meaning as a traceable activity that you leave behind wherever you go online. It can be your login details, cookies collected by websites you surf or just a comment you throw in someone’s blog. Though, you may delete history or clear cache from your device but if the receiving end still retains it, it’s still there.
Your digital footprint can be traced by a scammer or an attacker. They may track down whatever data you input whether intentionally or not and use it against you.
Frank Abagnale, whom we may know from Catch Me If You Can but now a cybersecurity & fraud prevention expert and advisor to the FBI, said that “Anything you say on Facebook, any picture you post on Facebook, is retrievable. Whether you close the account, erase the account, it’s retrievable.”
At the same time, perhaps you may have bantered on your social media without thinking it through which later someone finds it unfunny or offended, then you may be in trouble.
Like what happened with James Gunn who was removed as a director of Guardians of The Galaxy because of his offensive tweets on his personal Twitter back in 2008. Gunn regretted his attitude and thereafter aplogised for the controversial joke he made.
On the flip side, what if digital footprint is in good hands?
Have you ever heard about “Don't F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer”, a Netflix documentary?
It’s a true story about a data analyst, Deanna Thompson and her acquaintance, John Green (alias) together with a group of online sleuths who hunted down an internet killer that tortured 2 poor little kittens and later murdered a man. They identified the murderer using the digital footprints the guy left.
What a tech savvy docu-series! I highly recommend it if you haven’t watched it yet. This has proved that even criminals need to be concerned about their digital footprints. We all do.
Accordingly, how can we protect our digital footprints? What about data privacy laws? Do they help?
Many countries have their data privacy laws regulated, which may be similar in concept, where a data subject has the right to request for their personal data to be deleted or anonymised.
Even so, how we can be certain that in reality there is no one grabbing such data in between. Should we rely on the legislations alone without any precaution?
Cybersecurity advisors whom I met, commonly gave corresponding pieces of advice. For instance, be cognizant of what you input online. Review consent requests before accepting cookies. Think it over when you post sensitive data. Especially for families with kids, be mindful of photos or details of your children that you publicly share on social media.
“There’s really nothing safe when it comes to social media.” – Frank Abagnale
Eventually, I’ve set a reminder for myself to be conscious of my digital footprint and prudent when socialise virtually. Every so often, it makes me perfer being online introvert …
which I find it not a bad idea after all.
References:
In SC, Frank Abagnale, of ‘Catch Me If You Can’ fame, warns of social media’s perils, Haley Walters, The Greenville News (2 October 2019)
Director James Gunn Apologizes for ‘Offensive’ Old Tweets Joking About Rape, Pedophilia, Thom Geier, The Wrap (20 July 2018)
Don't F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer
Directed by Mark Lewis, Netflix (18 December 2019)
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