With the release of the iPhone 6, Apple revolutionized digital payments with Apple Pay. This allows iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus owners to use their phones as their debit or credit cards at certain cash registers and vending machines. Consolidating more services into one device may sound convenient, but what are the risks? Today we have an overwhelming amount of personal information stored on our phones and on the web. We have financial information on shopping and banking apps. We have text messages and personal emails at our fingertips. Some of us even have medical records on health tracking apps. But what happens if our phones are stolen or if our accounts are compromised?
The consequences of identity theft can be terrible. Money and bank accounts can be lost, medical records can be accessed, and worst of all, text messages and emails can be sent without permission. Relationships can be ruined and jobs can be lost. During all this, the victim may be completely unaware of the damage, and reversing it could take months.
I understand that identity theft is usually seen as a low risk, but what if that risk is realized? It is easier to protect from electronic privacy invasion than to recover from it.
Personal information security is a big deal, and many people go around with nothing more than a simple password on their phone, hoping to keep the world out of their pockets. Birthdays and “the last four of your social” are always bad passwords.
It should go without saying that you should never ever ever use the same password for all of your accounts. If someone else finds the password for just one account, the others are compromised too. Passwords are your first line of defense against lost personal information, but they are too often the weakest link in the chain. Using the same numbers for your ATM PIN and your phone password may seem like a good idea, but if someone finds out the numbers for one of those, they have found the numbers for all of them.
Unfortunately, just using a password does not ensure that your phone cannot be compromised. Encryption dramatically increases the length of time required to crack into your phone. Encryption sits between your password and your information and protects the contents of your phone from being read without a password. It is supplementary to password protection and works behind the scenes to offer a better safeguard. If your phone is lost or stolen, you will have plenty of time to delete your messages and change your passwords. If you use iCloud, you can completely wipe your phone’s storage from your computer.
Passwords and encryption are not foolproof and will not protect you from a subpoena or someone who really, really wants your personal information. However, these methods will go far to protect you from a typical identity thief or phone thief. Personal security should be taken seriously. Having protected, confidential data in the information age is becoming increasingly important as more and more individuals and institutions are constantly being hacked.
Jumping through all possible hoops to protect your data may seem like a hassle, and it may not be for everyone. At the very least, use multiple passwords and put a password on your phone. If it gets stolen without a password, you will quickly regret it. If you are unsure about how many steps you need to go to protect your information, start with a password and hopefully encryption. Decide how much protection you need, but at least use good passwords.
