How to Reclaim Your Digital Privacy

An alarming 46% of small and medium-sized businesses get hacked; nearly one in five files for bankruptcy or closes down as a result. That means roughly one in ten small and medium-sized businesses will close or suffer severe financial damage because of hacking.

You can help ensure you’re not one of those businesses by reclaiming your digital privacy. Making sure your data is secure is even more important in the age of AI, as systems — and hackers — get smarter.

Here are three strategies to put in place today.

1. Protect Your Digital Privacy When Using AI

AI is a helpful tool, but using it can also expose your business to risks. It’s easy to accidentally share your personal details or clients’ confidential information through a search in ChatGPT or other AI tools.

That’s because the information you input into an AI-powered search isn’t necessarily private. For example, some Meta AI users were surprised to discover that the AI search engine was posting search prompts to a public feed.

Online tools may also use your prompts to train their AI models. That means the information you input could be reused and appear in someone else’s search result. Recently, file-sharing service WeTransfer faced backlash after users read the tool’s terms of service and discovered their files could be used to train AI models. WeTransfer has since updated its policies to remove AI training, but the situation is a good reminder of the importance of understanding how your data is used online.

Leaking confidential information could damage your reputation and your business’s success. You can be proactive about privacy when using AI tools by following a few best practices:

  • Read the fine print before using AI tools.

  • Choose paid plans for better security.

  • Configure AI tool privacy settings.

  • Establish AI use guidelines for your team.

Another facet of digital privacy is ensuring that your personal information can’t be used against your business. AI technology has made it easier for fraudsters to create convincing scams. Gone are the days when phishing emails were riddled with spelling and grammar mistakes. With AI’s help, scammers can now make emails appear as if they’re coming from your bank, a vendor, or even you.

Deepfakes — a video, audio file or image that’s created to impersonate someone — are becoming increasingly common. In 2024, roughly half of global businesses reported incidents of deepfake fraud.

A common scam targeting businesses involves a scammer impersonating an executive and sending an email to a junior member of the team, requesting they complete a financial task such as transferring funds to a vendor or making a purchase on behalf of the business.

Last year, a Hong Kong finance worker fell prey to a deepfake when scammers used AI to impersonate the company’s CFO on a video call. The scammer asked the employee to make a $25 million payment, and — because the employee recognized the people on the call — he did.

Protecting your own personal information and limiting where your image is shared can help ensure that your likeness isn’t used for deepfake fraud. To limit your risk, keep your social media profiles private, don’t accept friend requests from strangers, and follow basic data privacy best practices.

2. Create Digital Privacy Practices That Can Scale

If you’re a sole proprietor or a small team, it may seem overblown to have digital privacy guidelines. But they’re a crucial component of a scalable business.

Here are a few cybersecurity practices from the FCC that are easy to implement with a small team but will build a strong digital privacy foundation as you grow:

  • Protect your devices: Keep browsers, apps, and other software updated — older versions are easier to hack. Also install antivirus software.

  • Back up data: Back up your data at least once a week. Store physical copies offsite and digital ones in the cloud.

  • Create a mobile device action plan: If you use a cell phone or tablet as part of your business, apply the same security principles to those devices as you would to your computer. Install antivirus software and protect devices with a unique password. You can also consider using a Device as a Service (DaaS) offering to rent your devices and outsource their security to a third-party expert.

Implementing these practices from the start will make it easier to shore up your digital privacy as your business grows.

3. Make Sure Your Physical Space Promotes Digital Privacy

Protecting your data isn’t just about the digital realm, it’s also about ensuring your physical space is secure. Here are features to look for in a space with good privacy:

  • A secure wifi network, complete with firewall protection

  • Lockable doors, so that physical files and hardware can’t be accessed by unauthorized people

  • Enclosed spaces for private conversations

In addition to protecting your business, having a private space can also build credibility with clients who would otherwise prefer that your family members or fellow coffee shop patrons not have access to their information while you’re working from a home office or public space.

Digital Privacy May Feel Like an Afterthought — But It’s a Crucial Part of Infrastructure

You probably have some kind of business insurance so that you’re protected if something goes wrong in the future. Think of digital privacy like an insurance plan. It’s easy to ignore until something goes wrong. But if you have the right measures in place, you won’t have to worry about whether your data is safe.

By carefully using AI tools, establishing digital privacy practices for your business, and investing in a private workspace, you’re setting yourself up for success.

Interested in viewing a work space that puts privacy first? Book a tour of a Firmspace location near you.

Darby Gerga