Digital Identity Theft: Tips & Techniques To Protect Yourself Online

Identity theft not only has monetary consequences but can also be a potential threat to the reputation of an organisation.

By Ratan Dargan

Technology has intertwined itself in all strata of society and businesses alike. While it has been responsible for easing the lives of people, organisations have leveraged it to obtain better results with fewer resources. While technological advancements and digitalisation have been a boon for us in various fields, whether it is education, healthcare, or finance, there have been potential risks that have followed.

Data breaches and cyberattacks have become the norm today and have been growing at an alarming rate. According to a report by CheckPoint, there has been a surge of 18 per cent in weekly attacks on Indian organisations in 2023 when compared to 2022, with each organisation facing 2,108 weekly attacks. In conjunction with this, there has been an emergence of digital identity theft, which is a potential threat to not only business professionals but also the common masses.

Digital Identity Theft: A Potential Threat

Technological advancements have led fraudsters to get sophisticated with their methods to steal personal data, and one technique that has been frequently used is identity theft. In this case, a hacker usually impersonates an individual and uses their information to conduct illicit activities. It can be conducted in a myriad of ways and can leave victims with considerable damage to their reputation, finances, and credit.

The activities can range from obtaining a loan, hacking smart devices to get OTPs (one-time passwords), or creating fake social media accounts to contact close friends and relatives for syphoning money. Furthermore, cyberattackers can also target an employee of an organisation with phishing or fake mail in a bid to obtain sensitive data. They can access sensitive information from endpoints in regard to the workforce working remotely.

As India has been increasingly using digital means for its work, transactions, communication, and entertainment, the risks of identity theft have also soared. According to a global survey by Experian, 30 per cent of Indian respondents who were surveyed said that they had been victims of identity theft online. These alarming numbers prove that people and organisations have paid little attention to their cybersecurity. The outcomes of identity fraud can cause havoc in an individual’s life and can also be a threat to the reputation of an organisation. In this regard, certain online security steps must be taken to protect your digital identity and mitigate adverse consequences.

Detection & Protection

Identity thieves can target large organisations as well as smaller businesses, regardless of their size. In a bid to protect their employees and their own corporate identity, organisations can certainly follow a few steps.

Protecting the IT systems: Personal information that can be used to identify a customer is frequently collected and stored by businesses. Cybercriminals can exploit this information to steal identities, corrupt business data, and siphon money. Your data needs to be backed up in case of a cyberattack to avoid significant disruption, data loss, and monetary damage. Furthermore, implementing firewalls and encryption for the data tends to secure the IT systems and their data.

Implement IAM (Identity Access Management): Information technology (IT) administrators can restrict user access to sensitive data within their organisations by putting an IAM architecture in place. IAM uses privileged access management, two-factor, single sign-on, and multi-factor authentication techniques. In addition, these technologies help organisations safely store identity and profile data, as well as data governance features to ensure that only useful information is shared whenever required. IAM systems can be installed locally, made accessible by a third-party vendor via a subscription-based cloud model, or installed using a hybrid strategy.

Ensure endpoint protection: With more employees working from home or connecting to personal or public Wi-Fi on the go, enterprise networks now have more endpoints than ever. Additionally, every endpoint has the ability to serve as a point of attack. Endpoint security includes the steps taken to protect gadgets such as desktops, laptops, and more that are used for official purposes against the risks of cyberattacks. Businesses are able to defend against cyberattacks by using endpoint security software to secure the devices that staff members use for work, whether they are on a network or in the cloud.

Identity theft not only has monetary consequences but can also be a potential threat to the reputation of an organisation. While weak security measures make a company prone to data leaks and cyberattacks, they can also impact your relationship with customers. In a bid to secure your organisation from this potential threat, you need some techniques and tools at your disposal.

Having a robust security measure implemented on your cloud system can ensure that sensitive data remains protected. Furthermore, implementing encryption, a firewall, IAM, and endpoint protection can further make sure that organisations stay protected from any cyber threats. The key is to not become a victim of these fraudulent activities and to stay ahead of cybercriminals by implementing robust solutions.

(The author is the Co-founder and CTO of ThoughtSol Infotech)

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