Essential Cybersecurity Tips Every Freelancer Should Know

With their livelihoods and work prospects intertwined with their digital footprints, freelancers can’t afford to overlook cybersecurity. Here are the must-know tips for freelancers to follow to keep their personal information, files, and clients secure.

Minimize Your Digital Footprint

By necessity, freelancers live under public scrutiny more than regular workers, as marketing their skills and services is a must for success. This is especially relevant in times when potential clients run background checks and look for testimonials to see their competence. However, it shouldn’t come at the cost of too much personal and sensitive information being readily available about freelancers online.

As surprising as it may sound, limiting digital footprint has many benefits for freelancers. It helps tailor their image, highlighting professional qualities while overshadowing irrelevant and unwanted personal details. Besides, less personally identifiable information reduces cybercriminals’ ability to conduct identity theft, phishing, and other targeted attacks.

Widespread public availability of personal information is difficult to tackle yourself. This is why it’s advised to use the best data removal service to do this thorough job instead.

These services locate data brokers and people-finder sites, requesting removal of unwanted data they’ve collected on you and preventing future collection. So, rather than doing cumbersome clean-up yourself, data removal services free you up to focus on work, promoting client relationships, and cultivating a professional image.

Handle Client Data Responsibly

Not paying attention to how freelancers store and share their client data can have disastrous consequences. For example, unreliable cloud storage providers are vulnerable to data breaches, which can expose vulnerable client data. As you might have guessed, this can damage a freelancer’s reputation irreparably.

To avoid this, freelancers should vet storage providers for trustworthiness and their cybersecurity strength. It’s vital to ensure the software freelancers use for business communication has end-to-end encryption and protects their conversations and any files they may exchange. Lastly, always use private links only clients you send them to can use to access files.

Create File Backups

Even after successfully completing business with clients, freelancers should always keep backups of their projects close at hand, as clients often request revisions to delivered projects or references to past ones.

To keep files organized and readily accessible, freelancers should back up original files using both reliable digital storage and an offline drive not connected to other devices. This ensures easy access to crucial files from anywhere while reducing the potential impact of a ransomware attack on their freelance business.

Use Secure Passwords

These days, most tools freelancers rely on are online and service-based, so they each need a unique account. And for freelancers like marketers, access to clients’ social media or email accounts is often part of the job. Both cases demand careful management of multiple accounts, as careless handling can quickly expose freelancers and their clients to unnecessary cyber risks.

Managing multiple accounts with unique login details is challenging, and mixing up or forgetting passwords is more common than you’d think. This is why password managers for different browsers like Firefox or Chrome exist.

Password managers turn login credentials from liabilities into dependable security measures. They provide as many unique and complex passwords as you need and store them with encrypted protection. You can sync stored passwords with all your devices and temporarily yet securely share them with clients.

Stick to Legitimate Software

Freelancers that are new to their market may be tempted to use pirated versions of industry-standard software or popular extensions to save money while building up their client list. However, such software often comes with hidden malware, which can lead to credential and data theft, compromise client security, and even result in financial and legal consequences for the freelancer.

Additionally, clients seek freelancers who prioritize security and professionalism, often requiring them to use licensed software. So, it only makes sense that freelancers should always use legitimate software. If they can’t afford it, there are tons of free alternatives for most tools.

Keep Everything Updated

While most freelancers may rely on many online services, their devices, and local software are still vulnerable and need to be updated regularly. Developers address known security concerns and introduce new features through updates, which freelancers should apply as soon as they’re available. Automating updates is the most reliable way of doing so. It should already be on by default for most operating systems, anti-malware, and most software. However, it’s always good to double-check it to be sure.

Freelancers face numerous cybersecurity concerns in their day-to-day work. However, by using the right tools, practicing online security, and keeping client safety in mind, they can rest assured no cyber danger is coming for their success.