In real life, our tastes, preferences, personality, behaviour, physical traits mark who we are. That personal profile is also being created in the virtual world and we know it as a digital identity.

Digital identity is the set of information that together projects an image or reputation about us on the Internet. It is made up, to a large extent, of our digital footprint and of the data that we constantly generate consciously or unconsciously: our email address or the date of birth that we include in a form, going through our bank details, even our habits of purchase in electronic stores.

However, digital identity goes a step beyond this phase related to our behaviour on the Internet, it must also validate that we are who we say we are.  For this authentication, there are different methods ranging from classic passwords, which only we should know, to biometrics, with features such as facial or fingerprint recognition.

Biometrics is becoming increasingly important given the growing threats to which users are exposed. Cybercriminals, among other objectives, seek to impersonate users for illegal purposes. For this reason, public and private organizations, such as banking institutions, focus their efforts on protecting their systems, clients and employees in the best possible way.

There are many threats to which we are exposed daily that can jeopardize our digital identity.  To minimize these risks, there are a series of recommendations that range from what we share on social networks to keep the operating system of our devices always up to date. These online safety guidelines can help us be more protected in our digital lives.

1. Protect our information and our equipment: always access addresses whose address begins with "HTTPS" and, if you need to register with them, use strong and unique passwords.
2. Be discreet online and in public: make sure that what you share on the Internet, for example, on your social networks, does not contain personal or sensitive information. You can also review the privacy and security settings of your profiles or accounts.
3. Think before you click or reply: Suspicion of unexpected emails, SMS, or messages that pressure you to take some action (click, download something, or provide sensitive information.)
4. Keep passwords safe: Create passphrases, and passwords with three or more words to make your passwords stronger. Remember never to share them with anyone.
5. If there are suspicions, report it: Notifying an organization about a possible identity theft allows its cybersecurity team to take the necessary measures to contain the attack or prevent it from happening earlier.

Alvaro Gonzalez CYBERSECURITY LEAD at BATSOFT