Freelancing is one of those modern work opportunities that has really taken off thanks to more and more businesses opening up their workflows to the remote possibilities. Whether it’s freelance writing, freelance tech support or even consultations over the internet, it’s made it a lot easier for people to find work and also makes it easier for companies to find talent.
However, since modern freelancing is heavily based on the internet, it’s incredibly important that we start taking a look at how we can successfully protect ourselves from hackers and other security threats. After all, we’re not getting paid with physical money and we’re not relying on physical documents in order to get paid and keep track of our salary or contracts. Instead, everything is done over the internet and there’s always a chance that someone will find a way to steal your information, compromise your work or even assume your identity if you’re not being careful.
So in this article, we’re going to talk about what you can do to secure your future as a freelancer and prevent any kind of cybersecurity threat from potentially ruining your career.
Working with companies that are legitimate
While it’s understandable that you’ll take any job you can at the beginning, it’s always best to go with companies that have a reputation to uphold. If they ever do something that could result in you not getting paid or having your data stolen or leaked, then you can take them to court with legal action or at least get some swift justice by posting it on social media and explaining the problem. While publicly calling out a company has mixed results, it’s one of the few ways to get people to recognize a company’s poor management and low tactics.
When you’re looking for work as a freelancer, make sure you either work with a company that has something to lose or work through an agency that could help you chase disputes on your behalf. For instance, if you’re working on a service like Fiverr then you’ll be able to secure your payment and enter disputes should you and a client not agree on something. There will be many situations like this and if you’re new to freelancing, you generally want a service to be able to help you, especially if you’re not in the wrong.
However, working with companies through emails and contracts makes it a little different. You’re going to need to rely on lawyers if a company treats you badly or breaks a contract and you’ll have to count on social media websites to explain your point and get people on your side. It’s unfortunate, but there will be companies that are willing to scam you just because you’re relatively new or unknown.
Another issue with legitimacy is the type of security measures that they use. Most companies will use secure connections and encryption to keep your data safe, but if they ever experience a breach then all of your invoices (including your bank details and personal information) could be exposed to the internet and sold for a price. If this happens, the company has an obligation to alert everyone that was involved in the breach, but the ideal situation is to not have to worry about this in the first place.
Working as a contract worker usually doesn’t mean your details will be in the company’s systems, but cybercriminals can still gain access to bits of information such as your email address, real name, conversations and so on. If there is sensitive information here, then it could lead back to you. While this is unlikely to happen, it’s still a massive concern to anyone that values their privacy on the internet.
Ways to protect yourself as a freelancer
So to gather up all of the advice in a single place, here’s how you can genuinely protect yourself as a freelancer on the internet.
- Ensure the company uses secure web protocols. The simplest way to do this is to check the web address. If there’s a padlock icon and it shows “https” at the beginning, then it’s relatively secure. If you do not see these two signs, avoid those websites and clients as best you can.
- Avoid public WiFi when possible or make sure the connection is secure. Public WiFi connections are notorious for being unsafe because anyone can access and tamper with them. If you absolutely need to use the internet in public, try and pick secured WiFi connections or use a data plan with your mobile provider.
- Use a VPN if you’re serious about your privacy. A VPN, also known as a Virtual Private Network, allows you to mask your location and secures your data with encryption, meaning that even if a hacker were to intercept information that you are sending, it wouldn’t be legible and it would look like a garbled mess.
- Use secure login methods whenever possible. There’s two-factor authentication which can help you ensure your login is safe, and also options like Netverify which can allow you to login with a variety of different methods.
- Make use of security software. Whether it’s an antivirus program, a firewall or even a spyware remover, there are plenty of ways to secure your own system in the event that you open an email with a virus or connect to an infected network out in public. With these countermeasures, you can ensure that your system will be protected at all times.
- Backup your data whenever possible. Should you be working on a lengthy project with lots of files and data, you should absolutely make sure that you’re making regular physical backups on hard drives, USB drives and other methods of external storage. You can also use cloud backup solutions if this isn’t available to you. This will help you prevent data from being corrupted or infected and will allow you to restore backups of your work if needed.
Hopefully, this post has given you an idea of why online security is so important when working as a freelancer and how you can ensure your career is never ruined by a cybercriminal.
This is a collaborative post
