5 Tips to Keep Your Tax Data Secure When Filing Online This Year
At Blue Layer, our priority is assisting and protecting our customers in any capacity that we can. Protection is especially important this time of year when many people are dealing with something as delicate as filing taxes, more specifically, filing online. Despite efforts to combat cyberattacks in recent years, they can still happen.
As you get ready to file, here are a few things to keep in mind that will make sure that your tax data is kept secure.
Create and protect strong passwords.
This is a simple (and non-negotiable) cornerstone of cybersecurity. Password apps like LastPass or 1Password help you generate and store unique, encrypted passwords and log-in information for all of your online accounts. They are safe, secure, and essential for keeping all online tax data secure.
Use only secure connections.
While public WiFi networks are widely available for most people, they are notoriously insecure. Should you need to work outside of your home connection, establishing a VPN (virtual private network) is the best way to keep your connection secure. However, home networks can also be susceptible, making VPNs an excellent application for connections of any type, and in any scenario.
Encrypt your data.
There are several ways to do this, but regardless of your method, encryption adds another layer of protection between your data and those who wish to steal it. It’s also important to double-check that the sites that you are using use SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) encryption to protect your browsing data. How do we do this? Simply ensure that your URL begins with “HTTPS” and not “HTTP”.
Back up and delete your data.
In the unfortunate (and unlikely) event that your data is compromised in some way, backing essential data up on an external drive will ensure that it is not lost.
As an extra measure of security, you should also delete any tax data on the device that you used to file your taxes.
Use protection software.
Installing security software on your device is the best way to protect your information from any vulnerabilities that cybercriminals typically target. Keeping that software up-to-date keeps you safe from the ever-evolving methods of attack that cybercriminals employ.
Your tax data is incredibly delicate, and the unfortunate reality is that everyone is susceptible to breach. But at Blue Layer, we are focused on minimizing your exposure to threats by offering personalized cybersecurity solutions.
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