Published on 15 Jan 2025.
In 2006, the Council of Europe declared Jan. 28 as Data Protection Day. The purpose of this day is to better inform European citizens of their rights regarding the use of their personal data by governments, companies and other organizations. Companies and organizations are also urged on this day to improve the protection of personal data.
At Kinamo, we thought that 1 day a year to highlight data protection and privacy might be a bit too short. Therefore, we will continue the theme for the next few days.
Following "Data Protection Day" on Jan. 28, we asked colleagues here internally what they thought of when they heard "Data Protection". Our SysAdmins colleagues wrote a number of articles with great enthusiasm. Below you can read what our Sysad Koen thinks of when he hears about data protection.
On May 28, 2018, the GDPR legislation went into effect. For months we were all inundated with emails around updated privacy terms. In 2019, the EU surveyed citizens' knowledge around the topic. For example, 67% of survey participants would have already heard about GDPR. Since the introduction of GDPR, it seems that people are starting to think more about data protection and online privacy.
Today, we are besieged on all sides with companies wanting information about us for several purposes.
People often do not realize the impact something small can have, and soon the deadly argument "I have nothing to hide anyway" is brought up. I too am often guilty of this.
But let's look at this using a few simple examples from my immediate environment.
At home we don't always close the curtains; we have nothing to hide. However, when my wife breastfeeds our youngest, the curtains are closed. Even though everyone knows we are breastfeeding, we don't want everyone to see that. Still something to hide then?
No doubt a few pictures have already snuck from bij to Google, because when I ask my wife if she backs up her phone sometimes, she invariably replies that it automatically goes to Google.
We would never bring a Google Home or Alexa device into our home, as we find the thought of someone being able to listen in on our living room downright oppressive. Nevertheless, we are considering replacing our homebuilt internet radio with a Sonos device, reminding my better half that I prefer the model without a microphone.
No doubt data from us has already made its way to the tech giants of this world, I am thinking especially, but not exclusively, of our Google smartphones with Facebook app and the like.
It's not that we have anything to hide. But we also don't like strangers having their noses in our data, companies using it to serve us ads later or to "get to know us better." So we do want to protect ourselves on that front, but actually need to be more or less conscious about it in this world that is constantly changing.
Just as sometimes the webcam is shielded with a sticker, we can pay attention to a few things to protect our personal information online.
One of the things you can do visiting and certainly before entering personal information on a Web site is to check if the Web site connects using an HTTPS connection. Depending on the browser you are using (Chrome, firefox, Safari, ...) you can recognize a secure connection by the padlock in front of the web address in your browser.
By default, Chrome no longer shows a specific icon for a secure website. Instead, a secure connection is now considered normal. If a website is not secure, Chrome shows a warning icon (a triangle or text such as "Not secure") in the address bar. Want to zeler in Chrome that a Web site is secure? Then click on the address bar itself. Chrome then provides more details about the connection, such as "The connection is secure," if an SSL certificate is used.
Firefox, Safari, Edge and Opera still show a lock icon in the address bar if a Web site is secured with an SSL certificate. If the site is not secure, you will see a crossed-out lock or a warning icon.
An SSL certificate encrypts information exchanged between the user, browser and site. For example, information submitted on Web site forms. An SSL certificate encrypts this information so that malicious third parties cannot access it. It is therefore a must for any application that uses logins and passwords. An SSL certificate has a number of other benefits.
It is important that people look beyond just the lock in front of the url. Be sure to also take a look at what certificate is behind the lock. It is not inconceivable for a rogue party to register a similar domain and obtain the trusted lock, unfortunately.
If you have doubts about website, we recommend giving preference to websites that use an SSL certificate that periodically verifies which company is behind it. Some SSL certificates offer additional information that you can see directly in the browser, namely the name of the company for which the certificate was issued. For these types of certificates, the certificate authority has extensively verified that the company really exists and is who it says it is. This is especially important if you visit Web sites of banks, large Web shops and sites with which you share very sensitive information.
If you still have doubts after checking the above, please refer to the checklist below.
Another tip I want to pass along is about where you back up data genre your documents and files online. Backing up to the cloud is already better than no backup or a backup on a stick/drive that could potentially break.
That can be conveniently backed up to Google Drive, right? Personally, I replaced my Google Drive with a Kinamo Nextcloud.
With a Kinamo Nextcloud, my data is securely stored on a server where I know where it is, who is managing it and most importantly that no one is silently going through my data. Data that, by the way, goes back and forth over a connection secured via HTTPS.
You may shield your data on your Google Drive from the outside world with a password but Google and their partners still quietly read along. By the way, this is not only true with Google but most online cloud solutions.
Another argument that has been cited before is ease of use. Well-known players are often pre-installed on laptops and smartphones. In 2 clicks your phone is linked to a Google Drive. But isn't our privacy and data security worth just a few more clicks?
Kinamo Nextcloud is completely similar in functionality and ease of use to other known providers. Of course, even the photos from my smartphone, automatically end up in my private Kinamo Nextcloud. The biggest difference and advantage is that your data is truly private. The same convenience but with more privacy.
We at Kinamo have seen a sharp increase in the number of users of our Nextcloud service in recent years. This service is suitable for individuals as well as businesses and associations. Kinamo Nextcloud users consciously choose this cloud solution because they want to retain ownership of their own data and not just give it away to god knows who.
What are you doing to protect yourself online? Are you looking for a partner to help you with things like SSL certificates or cloud storage? If so, be sure to let us know.