Strengthen your IT security with digital New Year's resolutions

Every day, hundreds of unlucky or inattentive citizens are exposed to attempted digital fraud. This can happen, for example, when fraudsters send a text message or email with links to fake websites to lure credit card information or extract codes from citizens in order to misuse them.

Last year, the Danish police received more than 35,000 reports of IT-related financial crime. This corresponds to almost 100 reports per day and represents an increase of 30 percent compared to the previous year. And it's expected that the number of unreported cases is even higher. 

New tools in the scam box

Cybercriminals are constantly expanding the number of tools in their scam kit, and their bait can look so authentic – for instance through the use of artificial intelligence – that it is almost impossible to see through their tricks.

But according to Grit Munk, head of digitalisation policy at IDA, with a few digital rules of thumb, you can be better equipped if you want to avoid having your personal data stolen or your passwords hacked by cybercriminals, who are constantly on the hunt for new victims.

'Cybercriminals are becoming increasingly skilled at luring money, passwords and private information out of us, and unfortunately we probably all know someone who has been hacked or scammed through digital fraud. But with targeted efforts, you can limit the hackers' ability to get their hands on your data,' says Grit Munk.

Requires new routines

She believes that we need to get used to thinking about digital security in the same way as when we protect ourselves from burglaries and damages.

'You probably also lock your car when you leave it, and clean the gutters to avoid water damage to your house. Digital security requires some new routines, but once you've learned it, it's not difficult. We all struggled with MitID in the beginning,' says Grit Munk.

If you still haven't come up with a New Year's resolution, Grit Munk has six good suggestions for a digital New Year's resolution for 2025:

1. Create individual passwords for your most important digital platforms

Fortunately, only 5% of the Danish population uses the same password for all services, but a full 63% do not regularly change their passwords for their most important digital platforms. Consider a password manager that can protect your passwords.

2. Back up your files and photos

Use a cloud solution or external hard drive to store your travel photos, diplomas, contact details of friends and important documents. This way you will be less affected if you are attacked by hackers. 71% of Danes already do so.

3. Turn off and restart your mobile phone every week

When you turn off your phone once a week, you exercise the phone's software. This helps protect the phone a little better against attacks. Only 15% of Danes turn off their phone completely every week.

4. Delete your browser history and cookies once a week

If you delete cookies regularly, you reduce the tracking of what you do online by various companies. 15% of Danes delete cookies at least once a week. One in ten never does it, and 17% do it less than once a year.

5. Check the authenticity of phone calls

Always check with your bank or family if you are asked to transfer money to someone who has called or written to you. In 2024 we saw many cases where scammers pretend to be from the bank, the Danish Tax and Customs Administration or the police and get people to transfer money or hand over passwords. 60% of Danes have experienced attempted digital fraud within the past two years.

6. Get a VPN connection

VPN stands for Virtual Private Network. It protects your internet connection and online privacy by creating an encrypted tunnel for your data. It also hides your IP address and allows you to use public Wi-Fi hotspots securely.