Information trail: how to remove or minimize the digital past on the web and does it make sense

[Father]

The digital footprint is increasingly becoming a personal risk. The presence of publicly available data about certain actions may, for example, become a reason why the employer's security service will turn a potential employee away. Even more common are cases of harassment of certain individuals, when their data is taken from bots for "penetration" and made widely public.

In this article, we will understand what a digital footprint is, what are the pros and cons of "covering up" it, and also answer the question: does it make sense to try to minimize your digital footprint in an environment where "the Internet remembers everything"?

Information trail: what it is and how it is formed​

A digital or informational footprint is information about our online activities and presence that remains after using online services and social networks, registering on websites, and so on. Every time we leave a comment, like, publish a post, or use a search engine, we leave a digital footprint.

Evgeny Tsarev
Managing Director of RTM Group

The more active a person's lifestyle is in the business and social environment, the more contacts and interactions they have with various organizations, the more property they have, and so on, the more digital traces they have. If you don't use a smartphone or the Internet, don't order anything from a delivery service, don't speak at public events, if you don't have children and rarely leave your personal data, then there is much less data for such a portrait.

The average person literally "glows" with data. Therefore, for each person on the Internet, you can collect such data as full name, phone numbers, email, residential addresses, work data, invoices, car information, and so on.

This information may be sensitive in itself, but it is even more dangerous if an attacker has collected it in a single "profile". For example, illegal call centers keep and buy data from major leaks, and collect them together.

So-called breakout bots do the same — they provide data from multiple leaks at once, starting with a food delivery service and ending with a medical laboratory.

The scary thing is not that the network has disparate data about the user. It is dangerous if the information is structured. Then, with the help of, for example, a "breakdown bot", any person can find combined data about them — delivery addresses, car number, appeals to medical institutions, etc. It turns out a single puzzle with which attackers solve their tasks.

Konstantin Gusev
Senior Data Analyst at Edge2

Attackers use various methods to collect information:

• Those who have entered the Internet by criminal means or due to the negligence of employees of the database of large companies (IT, banks, delivery).
• Use of open data — social networks, instant messengers, forums, spark-interfax.
• Data theft through phishing, social engineering.
• "Breaking through data" with the help of negligent employees of telecom operators, employees of internal affairs.

In modern conditions, it is important to understand that most of the information that a person indicates on the network, even if it is a closed service, can become known to an attacker.

Pros and cons of removing or minimizing your digital past​

You can manage your information trail by deleting your online data and minimizing your digital past. It is not difficult to do this, but it will take time, desire and patience. But minimizing the digital footprint has both advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages	Disadvantages
Protecting your personal Information-Deleting or minimizing your digital past helps protect your identity and prevent the use of personal data without consent.	Information loss — if you delete your online data, you may lose access to certain services.
Increased privacy — the smaller the digital footprint, the less likely it is that personal information will fall into the hands of third parties.	Complexity of data recovery — If you accidentally delete something that you didn't want, restoring access can be a complex and expensive process.
Reduced vulnerability to cybercriminals — the less personal information available online, the less likely you are to fall victim to cybercriminals who can use the digital footprint for fraud and identity theft.	Losing the ability to interact with other users: deleting your account may deprive you of the ability to communicate with friends and colleagues.

As you can see, the pros and cons are quite balanced. And the decision to clean up the information trail is made by everyone independently, based on personal interests and possible dangers. The main thing is to be aware of the risks of your own cybersecurity.

Sergey Polunin
Head of the Infrastructure IT Solutions Protection Group, Gazinformservis

It is advisable to delete information about yourself on the Internet in the sense that one day it may be used against you. Even if you do not take attackers who can organize a creative phishing attack based on the information that they managed to get about you. For example, if you decide to apply for a job, HR or security services can use simple tools to find all your information. And, perhaps, something from your past life may seem unacceptable to them.

Digital footprint management methods​

It is worth saying that complete deletion of personal data on the Internet is almost impossible. The information may have already been copied by users, it may have appeared on other resources, and so on. This is the so-called Barbra Streisand effect — the harder you try to erase something, the wider it spreads across the network.

Alexander Zubrikov
General Director ITGLOBAL.COM Security

Whether it is advisable to try to remove information about yourself from the network is a difficult question. In most cases, information posted on the Internet can be copied or saved by other users, which makes it more difficult to completely delete it. However, regularly updating and updating information can help you control what is available about you online.

And in general, deleting information is an extreme measure, which is recommended to resort to in emergency cases. For example, if false or defamatory data has appeared on the Internet. In such cases, legal levers are involved in the case.

Andrey Mishukov
CEO of iTPROTECT

There are several legal levers to remove negative or defamatory information about yourself from the network. First of all, these are Articles 23 and 24 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, and second – the law "On Information, Information Technologies and Information Protection "and the Law"On Personal Data". Based on the norms specified in the listed regulatory documents, it is necessary to apply to the court and file a claim against the owners of Internet resources where information was posted without the consent of its owner.

Roskomnadzor has also created a Center for Legal assistance to citizens in the digital environment, where any citizen can apply and receive free legal assistance to protect their rights and legitimate interests when processing personal data in the digital environment.

In all other cases, the best solution is digital hygiene. You need to be in control of what you leave online and where, and understand how this information can be used against you.

Andrey Shabalin
Data Analysis Specialist NGR Softlab

Few people can completely erase a digital footprint, but you can cover up your tracks and prevent uncontrolled collection of personal data by various resources. Here are some simple steps that will "confuse" the segmentation and personalization algorithms:

• Separate SIM cards, at least two. The first number is used for communication with your family and colleagues, and the second number is used for authorization in stores, service platforms, and so on.
• Separate e-mail addresses. To register and receive confirmation emails, you can use temporary mailboxes with a self-destruct time setting.
• If possible, do not enter your real first and last name on the Internet. Just a harmless "Do you know the difference between a mocha and a latte" test with your real name makes your digital footprint more unique and easier to identify among millions of users.\
• Create a public digital identity on a social network to register for this account. With a different date of birth, other hobbies, or a photo of your favorite cat.
• Accounts in banking and other financial services, of course, can not contain fictitious data, but they must be under reliable protection. Change your passwords regularly, and enable multi-factor authentication for access.
• Privacy of Internet activity and movement in space will help ensure the connection of a VPN, as well as the use of antivirus solutions.
• Carefully analyze each request for personal data. Don't throw away information about yourself.

Well, if you have already "highlighted" your personal data, you can delete it locally. Below is an algorithm of actions to remove information from popular services, search engines, and some bots for "breaking through".

Service/search engine	Description of the procedure	Link to delete
@Quick_OSINT_bot	This bot allows you to find a person based on their passport data, TIN, SNILS, or car number. To avoid this, we write to the bot's support, receive and fill out a request to delete data, and send a photo to support.	@Quick_OSINT_support
The Eye of God Bot	Click on the link in the bot and confirm your phone number. Go to "My account", click "Delete data about yourself". Next, we make a request to hide data	https://go2.eog.bz/go
Getcontact	Click on the link and go through Telegram. Then scroll down and turn off visibility by your phone number.	Manage Your Privacy Profile Getcontact is a great 'Spam Blocking' and 'Caller Identification' app for you. Getcontact filters disturbing calls and allows only the people you prefer to communicate with you www.getcontact.com
Google	To prevent your VK profile from being found by your first and last name, click on the link and write a request to delete your data	Report content on Google www.google.com
FindClone	So that you can't be found in the VK by your photo, write to the service's email address. We describe your request and attach photos so that they can remove them from the search results.	[email protected]
Yandex	To become completely anonymous in this search engine, click on the link and fill in all the fields of the form.	Недостоверная, неактуальная информация о гражданине, ссылки на которую подлежат исключению из результатов поиска Яндекса (по «Праву на забвение») - Обратная связь. Справка yandex.ru

Deleting your data from popular search services does not mean that this information has disappeared from the network. But this way the user makes it more difficult for a potential "penetrator" to get to the information he needs.

Conclusion​

Digital footprint is a relatively new problem for the average user. Everyone understands the risks they carry by writing their address, full name, and card number on the back window of their car, but far fewer people realize the same risks when filling out fields on a particular site.

At the same time, tens of millions of people have already managed to leave a lot of data about themselves online. You won't be able to erase them completely, but you can try to make it harder for a potential attacker to make them available. Ideally, you should prevent any connection between the data already collected and new information about the person.

Control the publication of information, use pseudonyms and anonymous services, and be sure to follow the rules of digital hygiene.