6 essential recommendations to protect the privacy of our email
Posted: Tue Dec 03, 2024 6:47 am
Suddenly we receive a call from a friend who tells us that we have sent him an email with an attached file that is a virus, but it was not us . How is this possible? How could they have accessed my email inbox?
The National Cybersecurity Institute and the Internet Security Office have provided a series of recommendations to help us protect the privacy of our email.
There are many ways that someone can obtain your email address to try to access it later: because it was published on a blog or forum, by forwarding chain emails, by participating nursing homes email list in fake contests, because of a virus, and so on… If we add to this that we use an insecure password , the chances of someone being able to access it increase exponentially.
Once inside, they can impersonate us and send emails in our name, delete them, change the privacy and security options associated with them, etc.
What can happen if someone accesses my email?
protect my email
Loss of privacy
Firstly, all the conversations we have had through our email account will be exposed. In addition, the person who has fraudulently accessed it may have access to important private documentation that you have sent or received through email such as invoices, pay slips, videos, photographs, contracts, ID, etc.
Security issues
If this email account that has been accessed is the one we use as an alternative recovery account or to log in to social networks, PayPal, Amazon, Dropbox, our website or blog, LinkedIn, etc., the problem may be even greater, since the hacker could access these services by publishing in your name, making purchases through e-commerce that will be billed to you, and accessing private documentation that you have stored in the cloud.
Identity theft
In this case, the person could carry out acts of cybercrime such as harassing another person through social networks, could damage our reputation by publishing harmful, inappropriate or hurtful comments on social networks, send fraudulent emails such as phishing or malware and even circulate hoaxes or unwanted advertising taking advantage of our account.
6 tips to keep your email protected
There is no doubt that email is a great communication tool and offers us a wide range of possibilities both in the private sphere and at work, and precisely for this reason you must be cautious and be aware that losing control of it can cause you serious problems and more than a few headaches.
Use a strong password , using alphanumeric characters, upper and lower case if possible. If possible, make sure it is not the same one you use to log into any other service.
Enable two-step verification to add an extra layer of security to the authentication process, provided the service provides it.
As far as possible, avoid sending information that may compromise your privacy . If you have no other choice when sending this documentation by email, try to encrypt it or compress the file by adding a password.
Avoid opening emails from unknown people and delete them immediately. These emails could contain files with malware or links to malicious pages that could compromise our privacy.
If you receive a suspicious email from someone you know, delete it and contact the person to confirm that their email address has not been hacked.
Make regular backups of your email.
These recommendations from the Office of Internet Security will prevent your account from being compromised or make it much more difficult to do so. Do you know of any more that we haven't included?
The National Cybersecurity Institute and the Internet Security Office have provided a series of recommendations to help us protect the privacy of our email.
There are many ways that someone can obtain your email address to try to access it later: because it was published on a blog or forum, by forwarding chain emails, by participating nursing homes email list in fake contests, because of a virus, and so on… If we add to this that we use an insecure password , the chances of someone being able to access it increase exponentially.
Once inside, they can impersonate us and send emails in our name, delete them, change the privacy and security options associated with them, etc.
What can happen if someone accesses my email?
protect my email
Loss of privacy
Firstly, all the conversations we have had through our email account will be exposed. In addition, the person who has fraudulently accessed it may have access to important private documentation that you have sent or received through email such as invoices, pay slips, videos, photographs, contracts, ID, etc.
Security issues
If this email account that has been accessed is the one we use as an alternative recovery account or to log in to social networks, PayPal, Amazon, Dropbox, our website or blog, LinkedIn, etc., the problem may be even greater, since the hacker could access these services by publishing in your name, making purchases through e-commerce that will be billed to you, and accessing private documentation that you have stored in the cloud.
Identity theft
In this case, the person could carry out acts of cybercrime such as harassing another person through social networks, could damage our reputation by publishing harmful, inappropriate or hurtful comments on social networks, send fraudulent emails such as phishing or malware and even circulate hoaxes or unwanted advertising taking advantage of our account.
6 tips to keep your email protected
There is no doubt that email is a great communication tool and offers us a wide range of possibilities both in the private sphere and at work, and precisely for this reason you must be cautious and be aware that losing control of it can cause you serious problems and more than a few headaches.
Use a strong password , using alphanumeric characters, upper and lower case if possible. If possible, make sure it is not the same one you use to log into any other service.
Enable two-step verification to add an extra layer of security to the authentication process, provided the service provides it.
As far as possible, avoid sending information that may compromise your privacy . If you have no other choice when sending this documentation by email, try to encrypt it or compress the file by adding a password.
Avoid opening emails from unknown people and delete them immediately. These emails could contain files with malware or links to malicious pages that could compromise our privacy.
If you receive a suspicious email from someone you know, delete it and contact the person to confirm that their email address has not been hacked.
Make regular backups of your email.
These recommendations from the Office of Internet Security will prevent your account from being compromised or make it much more difficult to do so. Do you know of any more that we haven't included?