How Much Would It Hurt?
Tracking Down Your Digital Footprint
It felt like 100 hours. It took 10 hours.
Most people have received that deathly email — “someone has tried to log into your account.” For most online users, especially millennials — we start our late teens with a single email address which is then used to communicate with friends, businesses and other contacts. As time goes on the number of connections to businesses, employers, schools and vendors begin to overwhelm the inbox with an endless number of advertisements, promotions and junk mail.
Naturally, a new (and probably more professional looking) email is created and the original is dubbed a “junk address” or something given out to websites, applications, or other services that require an email address in order to let you use their services. The question is — how many accounts do you have? How many service providers or websites use that email address as a username for entry? Worse yet, did you set a junk email as a recovery address for an important email?
The importance of online security has only grown as technology has evolved and we have become more dependent on access to sites and services in order go about our day. This is especially true for students and individuals who work remotely. So, the question is — how much would it hurt to locate EVERY account you’ve ever used, update the passwords to a respectively safe level and enable two factor authentication where available? Answer: 10 hours.
With time on my hands, a renewal of security software combined with some spooky news headlines motivated me to act and secure my digital footprint. To my surprise, there were just over one hundred accounts I located. Accounts range from the obvious financial tools, to games, social media, learning resources and more. For reference, I counted anything that could be tied to an email and password login. This included anything spanning from a bank account, credit card, fantasy football app to that Pokémon Go app that got me off the couch for a few days in 2016.
The simple numbers: 36 percent of the accounts were inactive or used at such a low frequency that I had trouble locating the usernames and passwords (many of which had to be reset). 45 percent of the logins were secured using single factor authentication. Just under 22 percent of the total logins used a generic root password with an additional 7 percent of the passwords having 2-character similarity.
It goes without saying, the most exposed accounts were typically games, old applications, or generic school logins for a resource that was used over ten years ago. While many people may take the approach “it’s not that important” — it IS important to note just how much information can be found online. Cybercrime typically starts by creating a profile of the intended target. That Pokemon Go account — has your date of birth for account validation. That fantasy football application has your date of birth, phone number, team favorites and additional preferences. Unfortunately, even the simplest online accounts still offer cybercriminals a place to start.
How much of your information is online? Did you add your address? Was the password hint a dead giveaway? Are your important accounts linked to a junk account? Are those accounts linked to junk accounts through recovery? Are you sure?
There is only one way to find out. Take an afternoon, go through your email history and dive in. While it may have taken more time than I’m proud of, 10 hours is an insignificant amount of time when considering the securing of my digital footprint. Updating passwords, activating two factor authentication and logging a record for use becomes a simple process as you continue on your journey.
I can sleep soundly at night knowing my sibling’s wont login, steal and evolve that Kadabra I refused to give them. I can walk around the office confidently knowing my fantasy football drafting strategies haven’t been leaked and analyzed by my coworkers. Most importantly, my dogs sleep soundly at night knowing my bank account won’t get hacked and the treats will keep on coming.
Do that thing you’ve been telling yourself to do — secure your online footprint today!
