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When making a password , you should make sure that it is unique, i.e. that it is only used for one account or device, long and complex. 

Using the same password for multiple resources is a risk - if one of your accounts is compromised, others using the same password might be as well. 

Having a long password - 10+ or even 20+ characters, the longer the better - makes it harder to crack with brute force attacks. Use of different types of characters and symbols, such as numbers, small and capital letters and special characters (!, ~, *) is strongly encouraged.  

Avoid using online password generators and “how strong is my password” tools - you can’t know who is behind them and where your passwords might end up.

It is also highly recommended to set up multi-factor authentication  on your accounts, if the online service or platform has that option. This creates an additional layer of protection, as an additional step is required to login, usually a one-time code received via SMS or an app such as Google Authenticator.

However, multi-factor authentication (MFA) is not a “silver bullet” solution - people are still susceptible to social engineering attacks, such as phishing scams, and can be persuaded or fatigued to provide the second authentication factor, a one-time code for example. This is why it is important to consider a phishing resistant solution for MFA, such as the use of physical hardware keys.

Multi-factor authentication by default is unfortunately still not an industry standard - there are services which don’t offer it, and for those that do, users still have to navigate through complex security settings in their accounts in order to set it up.

Although any kind of MFA is better than having none, some forms are safer than others. For example, receiving codes via SMS is not reliable due to security flaws in mobile networks and so called “SIM swapping”, i.e. when an attacker gains access to a person’s phone number by tricking their mobile provider’s staff.

However, it should be noted that MFA is not a substitute for regular security training and awareness of threats such as ransomware. It is very important to build a positive, proactive security culture within your organisation with motivating and engaging training - you can improve the digital security on both personal and organisational level if you focus on all three domains of cybersecurity: people, processes, and technology.

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With so many accounts an average internet user has today, it has become impossible to memorise all passwords and have them be unique, long and complex at the same time. 

That is why you should use applications  called password managers , which securely store your login credentials and protect them with a master password. That way, you only need to remember your master password and you can copy/paste your other credentials directly from the app. Password management software usually has the option to automatically generate a long and complex password, made of randomised characters and symbols.  

Applications commonly used for password management are KeePass, KeePassXC and Bitwarden.

Storing login credentials in browsers '> should be avoided, together with online password managers which are not open source and end-to-end encrypted .

Password Authentication Digital hygiene Apps

The internet commonly provides a false sense of anonymity, whereas there is only pseudo-anonymity for most users. Pretty much everyone is identifiable online by their IP address , a unique identifier assigned to you by your internet service provider (ISP).

However, there are tools which can help you mask your actual IP address and provide an additional layer of protection for your online identity. This can be achieved with the use of Tor Browser or Virtual Private Network (VPN)  services.

Tor Browser is a free and open source software customised to work with the Tor network, based upon Mozilla Firefox, which encrypts  your browsing traffic and gives you a new identity, i.e. a new IP address. It is also particularly useful for accessing blocked websites on your network. There are some drawbacks however, as the Tor network provides generally slow internet speeds and users’ identity can be exposed if they do not use Tor Browser properly.

Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a service which enables users to connect to the public internet through a private network, providing an additional encrypted layer of privacy and masking the users’ actual IP address. There are many VPN providers, but users should still take note and be aware of possible security aspects such as:

• Jurisdiction, i.e. in which country is the company providing VPN services based. Countries which are members of the “Five Eyes” mass surveillance alliance (USA, UK, Canada, New Zealand, Australia) should generally be avoided;
• No logs policy, meaning that the VPN provider doesn’t log your internet traffic made through their network;
• Regularly performed independent security audits, which are usually documented on the VPN provider’s website;
• Price - some VPN services are quite expensive, but you should be vary of “completely free” VPN apps , as their business model is almost certainly based on tracking users. However, some paid-service providers  offer free plans with limited possibilities, such as lower speeds and a smaller number of servers .

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Encryption is the process of protecting data with a complex cipher, scrambling it so that it can only be accessed (decrypted) with a password or key, sometimes requiring an additional authentication factor, e.g. a digital certificate  . Encrypting hard drives and removable devices, such as USB drives, is especially recommended for people working with confidential information, primarily journalists and human rights activists.

VeraCrypt is a multi-platform (Windows, Linux, MacOS X) free and open source  disk encryption software with advanced capabilities. It can be used to encrypt only specific files, whole hard disk partitions, removable drives, as well as a partition or drive where Windows is installed (pre-boot authentication).

Cryptomator enables you to encrypt your cloud storage files for services such as Dropbox or Google Drive. Files are encrypted within a secure vault which is then stored with cloud service providers, which cannot access the data. Cryptomator is open source and available for Windows, Linux, MacOS X and mobile platforms (iOS, Android).

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Similar to hard drives and removable disks, communication channels can also be encrypted by protecting data with a complex cipher so that communication can only be accessed (decrypted) with a password or key. Of course, for journalists and human rights activists encryption is a key component of ensuring secure communication with confidential sources. This can be done in a variety of ways. 

Emails can be encrypted using PGP (Pretty Good Privacy), which is based on public key cryptography. You need to generate a key pair - a public key which you share with others and a private key which you keep secret - in order to exchange encrypted emails with correspondents. 

If you use an email provider like Gmail or Outlook, you can encrypt your communication using Thunderbird, an open source email client with built-in OpenPGP capabilities, or by using the Mailvelope browser extension  which works with popular webmail services. 

However, there are email providers, such as ProtonMail or Tutanota, which encrypt your messages automatically when they are sent between their users, and also provide ways to send encrypted emails to those using other providers. 

A free and open source chat app that provides end-to-end encryption  by default is Signal. It is available for iOS and Android, as well as a desktop app. It provides a wide range of security options, such as self-destructing messages, PIN protection or encrypted video calls. Another app with a variety of options you can also use is Telegram, where Secret Chats need to be enabled for end-to-end encryption.

Digital hygiene Apps Encryption

Decentralisation of the system, as a measure of physical protection, is set as a key condition for its security. It is recommended that the data is not stored on the same machine from which it is sent to the network or on which it is processed. There are several ways to store large amounts of data. The simplest way is to store data on an external hard drive. External hard drives with relatively good performance are affordable, but this type of computer hardware does not have a built-in duplication mechanism. This means that in the event of a failure, most of the data on that disk would be lost forever. On the other hand, external drives do not have direct access to the internet and are active only when connected to a computer, so they can be said to be relatively secure. Storing data on an external hard drive means that the data remains in the organisation's physical headquarters.

From a data loss risk perspective, renting storage space on a cloud server is a much better way to store important data. Cloud computing is an internet technology based on the remote use of resources (data flow, storage space, working memory, etc) and their exchange between multiple applications and users. The cloud can be private, public or hybrid. Cloud services use RAID technology (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) based on the model of comparative use of multiple disks for data storage, where each data is located in at least two locations, which significantly reduces the risk in case of failure. Some cloud storage solutions are Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, SpiderOak, Tresorit, etc. However, if it is sensitive data, storage on other people's devices is not recommended, despite the fact that all cloud services include encryption .

The third way of storing data is to form your own mini data center  in which all data of importance to the organisation will be stored. Equipment for this purpose depends on the needs. There are a number of ready-made solutions that are cheaper and can permanently solve this issue. Thus, the data will remain within the physical space of the organisation, and the application of RAID technology will reduce the risk of data loss and theft. One of the ready-made data center solutions is Drobo.

Server Apps Cloud

In one system (company, newsroom) all computers, printers, storage devices (storage servers or mini data centers ), mail servers, routers [ROUTERS] and other components are connected to the internal, local network, physically (by cable) or wirelessly (wi-fi). These networks are usually based on the so-called client-server architecture. A client or user is a computer or other hardware component in everyday use, while a server is a special computer that allows clients to use the resources stored on it. These can be applications, web pages, files, emails, databases, etc. There are different types of servers: web server, file server, mail server, database server, etc. Due to the high concentration of sensitive data in this network, special protection measures are applied to it.

A wireless network may have different physical bands depending on the strength of the transmitted signal. Indoors, this range averages about twenty meters around the router, which often means that this network is available outside the room. Routers that emit a wireless signal have several layers of protection, the configuration of which is the task of the administrator, including setting up adequate protection measurers. 

Below are the most common protection measures for wireless networks:

• Wireless security mode: It is recommended to use WPA2 (Wifi Protected Access 2) protection which has two possible applications. PSK (Pre-Shared-Key) is set easily, by setting a password [PASWWORD] , while Enterprise requires a slightly more complicated setup and an additional RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial In User Server) server. In most cases, the PSK method is good enough as a protection mechanism for small and medium organisations, if the password meets the standards. Many routers [ROUTERS] also support WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup), a system that allows you to log in to a wireless network using a button on the router, without entering a password. This system has serious security flaws, so it is recommended that it be turned off on the router;
• MAC filtering: MAC address is the physical address of the device that connects to the network. The router can be configured to allow access only to addresses that are on its list. This method will not stop advanced attackers, who can detect the list of MAC addresses from the router and download some of the associated addresses for their device;
• Hiding SSID (service set identifier): SSID is the name of a network that is usually public. Similar to the MAC filter, hiding the SSID will not stop advanced hackers, but it will prevent some less capable attackers from playing with someone else's network;
• Using multiple wireless networks is recommended when there are at least two categories of people for whom the network is intended, for example employees and guests. Given the characteristics of wireless networks, the only way to physically separate the network used by employees from the network to which other visitors are connected is to maintain separate routers, where everyone will have their own cable that connects directly to the internet.

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Conventional deletion of data from a device is not an effective solution for permanent deletion, because there are ways to recover deleted data with the help of special software. The solution to this are programs that use complex algorithms for decomposing data into a digital “mash” that can no longer be returned to its original form. Eraser is a free Windows application [APLICATION] that can completely remove data from hard drives by overwriting it several times with carefully selected patterns.

As for optical disks (CDs, DVDs), the most elegant way to permanently destroy them is to use a special shredder that can destroy disks in addition to paper. Methods for physically destroying hard drives that can be found online, where the drive is acidified or burned, are extremely dangerous. Hard drives contain various types of harmful chemicals, which can cause toxic and flammable fumes.

If old equipment is ready for sale or a hard drive is destined for disposal, it will require deep cleaning, even if it is broken. The software that does this very efficiently is Darik’s Boot and Nuke. Good practice suggests that when disposing of old equipment - after special software has performed deep cleaning of the disks - the equipment is disassembled to destroy the ports and break the pins on the connectors.

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Having 2-step authentication  turned on for all of your accounts is an essential security practice. However, in case the verification method you set up (phone number, app) is not working or has changed, you should try accessing the account from a trusted device . Many service providers offer the option (usually just a checkbox on the 2-step page) to mark a device as trusted so you wouldn’t have to enter 2-step security codes each time you log in on that specific device, such as your home computer. 

Make sure that only personal devices (computers, tablets, phones) you use regularly are marked as trusted and never use this feature on public or someone else’s devices. 

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In case your files are lost or you accidentally deleted them and you don’t have a backup , there are data recovery tools which can help you. Unless the data was deleted with an advanced tool such as Eraser, conventional data recovery tools might help you restore files.

Recuva is a data recovery software for Windows which has both free and paid versions. For an average user, the free option should be enough to recover deleted files and it also works with memory cards, external hard drives and USB sticks. Disk Drill, another recovery tool with a free plan, also works for MacOS in addition to Windows.

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If you believe that your device might be stolen, as a precautionary measure it is good to change all the passwords  to your accounts which are logged in. It is also advisable to use a trusted device  to logout from all sessions on the lost device.

Changing all of your passwords is much easier and safer with the help of specialised applications called password managers  . These apps [APPLICATION] securely store your login credentials and protect them with a master password. That way, you only need to remember your master password and you can copy/paste your other credentials directly from the app. Password management software usually has the option to automatically generate a long and complex password, made of randomised characters and symbols. Applications commonly used for password management are KeePass, KeePassXC and Bitwarden.

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Encryption is a cryptographic concept of encoding messages or information, which ensures that only people who have a way to decrypt it will be able to read it.

Voice communications are very easy to monitor and intercept. However, there are applications that enable encrypted communication through voice calls, as well as text messages, including group communication, photography and video. One of these apps is Signal, which is open source , run by a non-profit organisation and is entirely funded by donations, which allows it to work without monetising the data of its users. Telegram is an application which also has an encrypted audio and video call option and is definitely among the most popular services for secure communication.

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Messages are mainly used for informal and personal communication, and are often the subject of correspondence of confidential information about users that should not be available to third parties. There are applications that enable encrypted  communication through chat services. 

SMS communication is similar to chat communication, the only difference is that the internet is used as a data transmission medium in chat communication, while the standard network of mobile phones (GSM, 2G, 3G, 4G, etc.) is used for SMS messages. It is important to emphasize that both parties must use encryption in order for the system to be secure. A free and open source online chat app that provides end-to-end encryption  by default is Signal. It is available for iOS and Android, as well as a desktop app. It provides a wide range of security options, such as self-destructing messages, PIN protection or encrypted video calls. You can also use Telegram where Secret Chats need to be enabled for end-to-end encryption.

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Despite the development of more modern ways of communications, email has remained one of most commonly used solutions in official communications through the internet. Therefore, a large amount of important and sensitive information is still transmitted by email. On the other hand, the technology behind e-mail is not completely secure, it has a lot of security flaws, and the users have no control over who can access the metadata and content of their e-mail communication, especially when using email services such as Gmail, Outlook.com, Yahoo Mail, etc. 

Emails can be encrypted  using PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) , which is based on public key cryptography. You need to generate a key pair - a public key which you share with others and a private key which you keep secret - in order to exchange encrypted emails with correspondents. 

If you use an email provider like Gmail or Outlook, you can encrypt your communication using Thunderbird, an open source email client with built-in OpenPGP capabilities, or by using the Mailvelope browser extension which works with popular webmail services. By using these tools you can easily generate a key pair for encrypting your email, or import existing encryption keys.

However, there are email providers, such as ProtonMail or Tutanota, which encrypt your messages automatically when they are sent between their users, and also provide ways to send encrypted emails to those using other providers.

Phone/Tablet Apps Encryption Computer/Laptop