Cybersecurity, from password to aka email: data protection tips

Today, January 28, it is celebrated the European Data Protection Dayan opportunity to reflect on the security of personal information online and the importance of adopting adequate behaviors for digital protection. But what does it mean take care of your ‘cyber-hygiene’? The Cybersecurity Center of the Bruno Kessler Foundation (FBK), a research institute specialized in the fields of technology, innovation, human and social sciences, has focused on practices and behaviors that each user should adopt to protect their digital information and the own identity online.

Le password

The first suggestion is on passwords. Giada SciarrettaScience Ambassador of the Bruno Kessler Foundation, operational in the ‘Security & Trust’ unit and expert in design and security analysis of digital identity solutions, explains: “Passwords are the first line of defense against IT attacks; it is therefore important Avoid predictable combinations such as ‘123456’ or ‘password’, preferring more complex and safe solutions. essential to regularly change the passwords and do not reuse them for multiple accounts”.

According to an estimate of Nordpass, a company that provides applications for the safe management of passwords, among the most used passwords in 2024 in Italy there are still combinations of numbers such as 123456 or 12345678, or words such as password, Cambiami and Juventus, which expose to risks .

Multifactorial authentication

Another essential measure is multifactorial authentication (MFA), which adds A further level of security by requesting a second factor in addition to the passwordlike a code generated by an authentication app or a digital imprint. This significantly reduces the risk of unauthorized access and guarantees greater protection even in the event of theft of access credentials. Configuring the MFA for all accounts that support it is one of the best strategies to protect personal data.

Alias email

The third advice is the use of alias email, which allows you to create temporary aka to avoid exposing your main address and protect your digital identity. The ALIA can be useful to enroll in online services without compromising the main account, reducing the possibility of receiving spam or being victims of phishing.

Matteo Rizzi, FBK’s Security Administrator with experience in the management of identity and analysis of security protocols, observes: “The use of alias email proves to be particularly effective also to protect yourself from any data breaks, which occur when personal data They are exposed or stolen due to a security violation: in fact, if an alias is compromised, the user can easily deactivate it without influencing the other accounts, thus guaranteeing a further level of protection. to correlate different digital identities, limiting the possibility of targeted large -scale attacks. Good practice frequently monitor your accounts and activate access notifications to detect any suspicious activities “.

The main causes of a data breach include hacker attacks, incorrect configurations of systems, software vulnerability and human negligence. The consequences can be serious, with significant financial and reputational impacts for individuals and companies. To protect yourself, You can check regularly if your email address has been compromised on sites such as the Been Pwneds havechange passwords immediately in case of compromise and always enable multifactorial authentication to limit damage.