What is PII and How to Keep It Safe

What is PII?

PII stands for Personally Identifying Information.

Personally identifying information refers to any information that can be used to identify an individual person on paper or online.

For example, when you go to the doctor’s office, they may file your information based on last name, first initial and date of birth (DOB).

Your last name and DOB are just two examples of PII you need to safeguard.

Unfortunately, the more personally identifying information is out there, the more vulnerable you become online.

Examples of PII

Examples of PII you should do your best to safeguard include:

• Full name (including maiden name if you’re married)
• Address
• your DOB
• your children’s DOB
• Place of birth
• Parents full names (especially father’s middle name and mother’s maiden name)
• social security number
• passport number
• driver’s license number
• car license plates
• email addresses
• usernames
• passwords
• security questions and their answers
• banking information such as CC numbers

How to Keep Your PII Safe

There are very easy steps you can take to protect your PII from falling into the wrong hands.

• First, don’t post sensitive information on social media accounts.
• Also, be careful with your snail mail, even if it doesn’t seem important.
• Don’t use weak passwords online or reuse your passwords.
• And of course, use a password manager

For more information on social media and PII >>

For more information on using secure passwords >>

For more on password managers >>

TL;DR

So if you’re feeling a little paranoid – good!

After all, it’s always better to be safe than sorry.

If you found this post helpful, please be sure to share it with your loved ones and acquaintances alike. Online security benefits us all, and will only become more critical as technology’s presence grows in our community.

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Get informed. Stay safe.

TheWhiteHatHACKER