Digital Hygiene: How It Works And Why It Is Important

Constant data leakages bring suffering to all parties, whether it be major corporations, small businesses, or users whose safety is at stake. Digital hygiene is a way to save yourself from fraudsters. 

What is digital hygiene 

Digital hygiene is generally referred to as a set of measures aimed at preventing an unwanted diffusion of data. Abiding by the rules helps to maintain information safety, and therefore mitigate risks for internet users.

The internet is full of various recommendations that help practise digital hygiene. The most important rules are those that concern all available methods of information safety. For internet users, digital hygiene implies safeguarding the maximum levels of anonymity.

Confidentiality on the internet is a chance to save yourself from data leakages. Unfortunately, far from all platforms provide anonymous users with access to their services. In some areas, for example, the financial market, full confidentiality is simply not allowable. Cryptocurrency users also often face deanonymization requirements.

The set of measures that allow companies to verify clients’ identities is known as KYC (Know Your Customer). It is widely used both in the traditional financial market and in the crypto industry. Usually, as part of the KYC procedure, a third party requests a set of documents to confirm the users’ identity which includes personal data.

What is wrong with KYC

A third party usually stores users’ KYC data. Such databases with the personal data of a huge number of people are very attractive targets for fraudsters. Those pieces of data in the wrong hands can be the “key” to the company’s clients’ funds.

Unfortunately, history has shown that even major companies can not always guarantee the safety of personal data collected from their users. For example, in 2022, there was a data breach of one of the major crypto exchanges Crypto.com.  As a result, hackers got access to cryptocurrencies for over $30 million stored in the wallets of 483 users.

The team of Crypto.com had to compensate the clients’ losses. Also, the developers of the cryptocurrency exchange had to strengthen safety measures of the trading platforms. Of course, there are no 100% guarantees that hackers will not be able to circumvent new safety measures.

Representatives of the traditional financial market also often allow data breaches to happen. For example, in February 2022, this happened with one of the largest Swiss banks Credit Suisse. The media immediately named it the greatest leak in history. The investigation revealed that fraudsters managed to get access to 18000 Credit Suisse accounts with $100 billion in a period from 1940 to 2010.

The data breach also revealed records of bank accounts of Kazakhstan government representatives and their relatives. The Credit Suisse case is yet another reminder that even being high-ranking officials is not a guarantee in the face of personal data leakages. 

How to maintain digital hygiene

In the modern market realities, it is impossible to fully avoid KYC procedures. Network platform representatives might just restrict access to those users that oppose deanonymization. The solution to this problem was found by the Czech company Hashbon. The company team has developed the “non-anonymous anonymity technology”. Its main instrument is the digital document Hashbon Pass (an NFT passport). Here is how this system works:

• Users transfer documents for identity verification via Hashbon Pass to licensed verifiers. If verifiers show a green light, the user receives the Hashbon Pass NFT Passport. The digital document comes in the form of a non-fungible token. The information is registered on the blockchain, and the technology saves the data from being changed.
• After receiving the Hashbon Pass NFT passport, the owner of the document can present this token on any platform for passing KYC procedures. In this case, a third party gets the confirmation of the identity verification without any access to personal data. If needed, regulators can request data directly from verifiers.
  

The NFT passport Hashbon Pass issuance and interaction scheme

Thus, the NFT passport Hashbon Pass is a way to waive sharing personal data with third parties. Also, the digital document saves time while registering at various platforms and passing captcha.

The NFT passport Hashbon Pass is a one-fits-all solution. The digital document can be used both in the cryptocurrency industry and in the traditional financial market.

Hashbon Pass opportunities

Hashbon’s solution is especially relevant for business representatives. It allows users that wish to remain anonymous access to the platform’s services, which means that the NFT passport can increase the platform’s appeal.

The Hashbon Pass launch will happen at the end of June 2022. In the meantime, the project’s updates and access to the demo service are available on the official Hashbon website.