Tuesday, May 7, 2024 – Q&A: How do I disable the keyboard on my laptop? – Following the ‘Need to know’ rule on social media

In a nutshell, that phrase means you should only share sensitive information with the people who have a legitimate need to know it.

Why? Because information that a person isn’t privy to cannot be shared (either intentionally or by accident) with a third party who would use that info to your detriment.

Of course in the military this rule applies primarily to sensitive info such as planned operations, troop movements, etc., but it applies just as well to our personal devices and the Internet.

For example, your Facebook profile includes an “About” page on which you can list all manner of personal information such as your birthdate, your physical address, your phone number, and more.

If you choose to include all that info on your About page, any piece of info that’s set to “Friends” will be seen by your Facebook friends by default.

Sounds pretty harmless, right? After all, only your “friends” will be able see it.

But here’s the thing…

There’s a good chance that one or more of your Facebook “friends” isn’t really a friend at all. In fact, a good many of them could well be strangers that you just connected with on Facebook without really knowing anything at all about their backgrounds.

Would it really be a good idea to share your birthdate with everyone on your Friends list? They already know your name and possibly your address and phone number. Pair that info with your birthdate and it’s a fairly simple matter to steal your identity.

But what if you’re careful to only add friends who really are true friends that you know personally and trust completely?

Well, it’s still dangerous to post all that info on your About page.

Why? Because if you fall for a phishing attempt or a hacker manages to successfully hack into your account by other means, they will have immediate and complete access to every piece of info you have posted to your account – even the things you have marked with the privacy level “Only me”.

And that’s just Facebook.

Now, think about all the sensitive financial info that might be residing on your phone or laptop computer. Do you have your credit card and/or banking info stored on there someplace? Odds are the answer is yes.

That means if some miscreant happens to get their hands on your phone they’ll have access to that incredibly sensitive financial information, and they’ll surely use it to clean out your accounts.

Note: Putting a strong PIN/password on your phone or laptop can greatly reduce the risk in this case, but it won’t reduce the risk to zero. Just sayin’.

Bottom line: The only information you really need to put on your Facebook profile is your name (and it doesn’t even have to be your full name).

Anything else that someone with a “need to know” asks for can be provided via a phone call or encrypted email.

I recommend that you think carefully about the types of info that’s currently stored on your devices and your online accounts and remove anything and everything except for the barest minimum possible.

Yes, it’s a hassle having to enter your credit card information every time you make a purchase online. But I can tell you from personal experience that it’s a much bigger hassle having to clean up the mess caused by stolen financial info.