Digital information has become a pervasive, vital part of everyday life. Most of us have e-mail accounts, online bank and brokerage accounts, cloud storage for pictures and documents, social networking accounts and loyalty programs that we access on a regular basis. Moreover, managing these accounts is challenging because of the need to use numerous passwords. 

For financial advisors, for whom risk management is a core service, digital assets represent the additional challenge of keeping client information safe both while they are alive and after they pass away. 

Cybersecurity, meanwhile, is a tangible issue that advisors must be acquainted with. As is illustrated with each headline about hackers stealing information from government agencies or large corporations, cyber-criminals continually adapt to stay ahead of law enforcement, creating a very real threat to clients.

An Ounce of Prevention …
Clients face numerous challenges when it comes to managing their digital data. They may, for example, get locked out of their online accounts because of inactivity or because they entered the wrong password. They may forget passwords and log-in names or become overwhelmed by the sheer number of accounts they’re forced to juggle. 

But there are some steps clients can take to manage their digital information efficiently and safely:

1. Avoid accessing sensitive data and websites through a public Wi-Fi Internet connection.

2. Always log out of a website when you’re done accessing it. 

3. Keep software and apps up to date so you always have the latest security fixes.

4. Erase any data on phones, tablets, laptops and other devices before disposing of them.

5. Always review account statements, and if clients are in doubt about an e-mail they receive, they should go directly to the sending website.

6. Clients should not put personal information in an e-mail. Instead, they should share sensitive information with their advisor over the phone.

7. Be selective in what e-mails are saved to a folder.

8. Regularly empty the digital trash.

9. Clients should read the privacy policies of the websites they use and determine how personal information is stored and used.

10.The security settings of PCs, smartphones, tablets and other devices used to access the Internet should be checked regularly.

Clients should use a different password for each of their accounts, which means they will have a lot of passwords to remember and keep safe. A client may choose to create a list of sites with corresponding usernames and passwords. If so, the list itself should be password protected so, in practice, the client needs to remember only one password. Similarly, the client could create two separate lists: one with the username and a second list with passwords. The list or lists can be stored on a USB thumb drive and kept in a safe at home or in a safe deposit box. One challenge with keeping lists is ensuring that they are updated with new passwords and new sites or accounts. 

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