If you are reading this article, congratulations! You are one of almost 4.6 billion active internet users worldwide, according to statistics available for 2020. Being part of such a huge online community can actually be quite humbling, considering how practically everything we do these days can involve online communication.
While you let that remarkable statistic sink in, perhaps take a moment to think about all the personal information and data you share online every day. We often share everything from our names and locations, to entirely more private information like our credit card numbers and bank account details.
But do you actually know how such information is managed and protected by companies? Online security is an important matter to consider, which is why it’s also important to know what companies are doing with your data and how they keep it secure.
2-Step Verification
Given that protecting data and access is an important security concern for all online companies, they want to ensure that only authorized and correctly verified users are able to actually gain access. One of the increasingly most popular methods to ensure this is by using https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/185839, which is also sometimes known as two-factor or dual-factor verification.
The first layer of verification is usually the password you use to sign into an online account. This can be simply a mixture of letters and numbers, although some companies insist on something a little more secure, such as a combination of both upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and even use of keyboard symbols like “$” or “&” for example.
Applying a second layer of verification is a means of protecting users incase their password is lost or stolen. Many online companies and also trigger 2-step verification when users log into their accounts from new locations, which you may have already experienced whenever using Google, Microsoft, Amazon, or any other major online and mobile services.
This is done via a secondary means of contact, such as sending messages to your mobile phone with a security key, which must be entered after initially logging in with your password. The purpose of this additional step is to ensure that it’s actually you attempting to log in and gain access, having successfully responded to that second factor of verification.
SSL Encryption
Using the award-winning online casino gaming site – https://us.888casino.com/ as an example, if you have ever wondered what the “S” in the HTTPS means, it’s actually quite simple. You may already know that HTTP stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol, which is how data and information moves around the internet. This data uses port 80 and is unsecured, transferred in plain text when shared.
The “S” basically indicates that a secure version of HTTP is being used by a website. This means that when data is transferred, it has public key infrastructure encryption (PKI) using port 443 and strong data encryption algorithms.
This is essentially the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) which establishes the securely encrypted connection between the website and the client. The website owners also have to install an SSL certificate to enable HTTPS and guarantee security.
In addition to SSL and returning to the example of 888casino, this company also guarantees the safety and security of all their payment processing options, using additional firewall protection of all data and access, along with rigorous account verification measures. The latter ensures that only clients can gain access to their user accounts and personal information.
Using Third-Party Payment Processing
One of the biggest fears for many people when buying online is sharing their credit or debit card information, especially when opening new accounts with companies they haven’t used before. Likewise, an increasing number of online companies are also reluctant to store user credit card information on their servers, because this inevitably requires increased protection.
That increased protection at every level of a transaction can actually be an expensive business, with multiple and additional layers of security, encryption, and verification required, just to accept a single payment. Likewise, companies must also invest in extra security measures to protect both physician and cloud storage.
For those reasons and given the increased number of digital transactions today, many online stores and services are turning to third-party payment processing companies. These include reputable and recognized payment processing brands like PayPal, Stripe, Amazon Pay, Google Pay, Apple Pay, and Due, amongst the most reliable.
This method ensures that not only do online stores or vendors avoid any storage of credit card details, additionally, they also have no means to access that data without authorized consent from the user. Likewise, communication of card or bank details is exclusively between the user and the payment processing company, who subsequently transfer any payments to online vendors on your behalf.
Customer Education
No matter how rigorously any online company protects client data and information at their end, the weakest link of any security chain is most often the clients themselves. For this reason, one of the greatest methods of data protection and management is actually customer education. This begins with transparency about what information a company collects and how it is collected.
Customers should always be encouraged to be conscious of all the data and information they share online, along with how to better protect themselves. For example, one basic step is to never to share any of their user passwords and login information with anyone else, along with any other personal information, if they’re unsure.
Along with encouraging users to take every possible step to protect their own data and information, they should also be educated in the observance of any suspicious behavior which you can learn all about it here- https://www.usa.gov/online-safety , and attempts to access their data by nefarious means. This can include updating clients about known scams, such as phishing emails that attempt to emulate online services they use.
Finally, clients should always be encouraged to report any issues they encounter or attempts to access their information, no matter how minor or trivial they may seem at first glance. Good companies will always respond quickly to security issues, and local law enforcement will always take such matters just as seriously whenever issues are reported.
