There’s a lot of attention these days on work-life balance, and for good reason. Between the devices keeping us plugged into the office, trends in remote working, and the growing number of home-based businesses, the line separating our work lives from our home lives is blurry at best. It is little wonder, therefore, that we consciously look for ways to overtly separate the two.

That being said, there is at least one aspect of work which we should actively carry over to our homes; data security.

Most employers go to great lengths to protect their vital information. They do so, not only because regulations and stakeholders require it, but because the threats are real and the consequences are potentially devastating.

Is that really so different from information about our family’s personal information and details?

By now we are all aware that information about our kids’ schedules, daily activities, vacation plans, receipts, and medical procedures can be used (separately or in combination) by real world bad actors and with real world consequences. Scam emails populated by personal details is far more convincing. Burglars would much rather break in when they know you’re away, be it for several hours or several days. And, of course, there is the ever-present threat of the harm caused when critical account numbers fall into the wrong hands.

The fact is, taking steps to protect your family’s information is every bit as important as protecting business information if not more so.

These measures include:

1. Using strong passwords and multi-factor authentication
2. Regularly updating software on computers and handhelds
3. Being cautious of phishing emails and suspicious links
4. Securing wi-fi networks and avoidance of unprotected public networks
5. Keeping secure hardcopy (paper) backups of critical accounts
6. Securing computers and documents when not in use
7. Securely destroying all receipts, mail, statements, obsolete records and old electronics

A WORD ABOUT RISK

In the business world, evaluating risk begins by weighing the probability of an event against  harm the event would cause.

Where the likelihood of an event and harm an event would cause are both low, the risk is low and there is less need for mitigation. Where the likelihood of an event is high and harm it would cause is high, the risk is high, and mitigation is critical.

Applying this principle to household information protection, even if the threat that you would be targeted is low, the harm could result is potentially so devastating that whatever can be done should be done to minimize the threat.

To be fair, there is a third factor in the risk calculation that should not be overlooked; the cost of mitigation.  Budgets matter, and risk mitigation is sometime limited as a result.

Fortunately, that is NOT the case with protecting household information. Whether you believe the probability or the harm caused is high or low, the cost of taking the proper precautions is next to nothing.

The point is, there are few things more important than protecting your family’s information, and there is nothing that is keeping you from doing it.

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