How Your Identity is Being Threatened by the Digitalized World

Today, cyber threats are looming larger than physical threats such as terrorism. According to research that was conducted by the Unisys Security Index™ in 2017 this is true for both developed and developing nations. This is because we're now embracing more digital devices and services in both our work and personal lives. As such, most of us have started wondering what are the latest security threats lurking around

Today's Major Security Threats

As we look around us we find that there are two main types of security concerns that most people are “worried” about today – identity theft and bank card fraud. This is because these threats affect everyone from the government to businesses and even individual citizens too. What's surprising and interesting here though is that the level of concern in developed countries (e.g. the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom) is rising faster than it is in emerging markets (e.g. the Philippines, Malaysia, Colombia, and Brazil). Many people believe that the reason for this is that developing nations are starting to realize how dependent they are on digital systems. As such, they're paying attention to the risks that these systems bring with them. However, this was a concern that 10 out of 13 countries shared.

Besides developing nations, women are showing a lot more concern here than men. This is especially true of those between the ages of 18 – 24 as opposed to those who are 55-years-old or older. According to Business World, you'll also find that people with lower incomes are more concerned than people with higher incomes. These numbers are growing yearly too. In 2017 the Global Unisys Security Index was 20% higher than it was in 2014, which was the last time when they conducted this survey.

Securing Your Digital Future

Understanding the fears that exist here helps us see how we're making strides as we work towards a new digital era today. We've finally entered into a time when we can do complex transactions like banking on our mobile phones. As such, it shouldn't come as a surprise that we're seeing an exponential rise in digital crimes.

There's no doubt about the fact that the digital world offers great benefits. However, we must also realize that it also exposes us to new types of threats. While the government is trying to create new cybersecurity strategies, these aren't things that they've been able to implement effectively yet. This is because we need to create an ecosystem that seamlessly integrates laws, organizations, and technology.

As we're all growing more digitized, people and companies are only just waking up to see how dependent they are on external institutions to protect their privacy and ensure their security. Things like the Internet of things, big data, cloud technologies, and mobility are all important elements of our digital future and how quickly it's developing but we must also place a lot of focus on integrating security measures at all levels. These really are the only way that we can safeguard our sensitive data.

Finding a good balance between privacy, security, and convenience is important. These things all play an integral role in creating a secure digital future. However, there are still sometimes when people are willing to forgo some of this privacy. Usually, this depends on just how much they trust an organization to protect the information they give them if there's a large personal gain for them, and how much control they have over when and where an organization is able to access their information.

One area where people should never be willing to forgo their own security is when it comes to banking. Banks need to be held accountable for safeguarding and never losing their customers' information. Instead of letting banks get away with these things, they need to be put out of business immediately when any such breach occurs. This is why things like behavioral biometrics, micro-segmentation, predictive analytics, and advanced identity and credentialing will play such a major role in our financial future. As payments are made without passwords there needs to be a fine balance struck between privacy and security today.

Fearing Security Itself

As we implement more security some people are actually living in fear of this security. This can't stop us from taking proactive steps to take to increase our security though. We no longer live in a world where security is ‘nice-to-have.’ Today it's a ‘must-have’ that needs to be built into everything that we do.

Security begins with anticipating threats. This needs to be our focus since it's our first line of defense. We're living in a time that instead of fearing security we must realize that our information could be compromised at any time, especially if we don't have security in place. For this reason, global organizations must also find ways to strengthen their cross-border security standards.

With everyone being so anxious, in one way or another, about security businesses need to wake up. They need to incorporate it into everything they do while also proactively updating their systems instead of waiting until after an attack to do damage control. Hiring trusted security personnel who understand this and can offer relevant solutions should be a part of any company's employment strategy today. Of course, this is only one of the ways in which a company can show its stakeholders and customers that security is of really high importance to them.

With the digital threats against us being so serious today, we can't afford to stand back and do nothing. Things like identity theft and bank card fraud are happening millions of times a day now, unfortunately. While there are things we can do to stand our ground, to secure our future, some people are even living in fear of them. In this new millennium we honestly can't afford to live in this type of fear. It's time we stand up and stand our ground. Fortunately, there are many ways we can do so – if we'll only choose to start embracing them.