Coronavirus special report: Separating your Work and Personal identities

The Coronavirus quarantining and social distancing has resulted in tight quarters.  More of us have combined working and living in the same physical spaces now, working remotely or working in other unusual spaces.  There is not the same “clean separation” between Work and Personal space where you leave your home and drive to your work.  However, separating your “Work Identity” and “Personal Identity” remains very important, both for your protection and for the security of your company.

What you need to know 

The Internet Villains want to “own” your identity. The more online pieces of identity you leave for them the easier their jobs will be.  And remember, regardless of where you are “physically” located, your company is monitoring everything that you do on your business laptop, on your business cell phone, and on your business email.  This is necessary to protect the company if something goes wrong, for example if your “Work Identity” is stolen.  

What you need to do

When you create online accounts, consider whether the account is something that you wish to retain if you separate from your company, or whether the company needs to retain the account information.  Also consider whether you want your company to monitor everything about the account.  

• For example, a B2B supplier would likely be a “Work Identity” account.  For those accounts, use your Business email.  
• On the other hand, a LinkedIn account, Facebook account, or account at your child’s school are “Personal Identity”.  For those accounts, use your Personal email.

Take away

Personal identity and Work identity need to remain separated, for both your personal security and the security of your company.  Only use your Work email address when representing the company and when necessary for company business. Use your Personal email address for your personal online identity.

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