Mary Galligan is an ex-FBI agent
who led the cyber and special operations team at the FBI’s New York office,
which is the agency’s largest surveillance operation. She now works as a
security and privacy consultant, and is sharing advice on how to protect your
privacy. Galligan’s top 5 pieces of advice are listed below:
1.
Change your passwords once a month. If a
criminal gets access to your email or any of your online accounts, it becomes
very easy for them to worm into other aspects of your life. Galligan recommends
to assume your passwords will periodically get compromised, and to change them
accordingly.
2.
Give the wrong contact information at checkout.
Anytime a store clerk asks for your zip code or phone number, that data gets
aggregated. Retailers not only have databases that show where you live, they
can also find out your salary, credit history and birthday. Recent big company
data breaches show that companies cannot always be trusted to safeguard your
information. Galligan recommends giving clerks phone numbers and zip codes that
aren’t yours.
3.
Need photo ID? Don’t show your driver’s license.
This is a general rule for privacy. Your driver’s license shows your birthday
and address. Galligan suggests using another form of photo ID with less
personal information if you have one available.
4.
No banking apps. Although most credit cards have
fraud protection, your checking and savings accounts don’t. Because of how easy
it is for a computer to get infected with a malware that spies on you, Galligan
does not shop and bank on the same computer, and that includes her phone.
5.
Keep one email account for junk mail only. When
companies demand an email address, Galligan gives them a dummy account reserved
for marketing. It gets bombarded with spam and advertisements, but shields her
real email from the junk. If those companies sending emails were to get hacked,
her real accounts remain safe.
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