"Just as in the physical world we must take care of our reputation and prestige, in the digital world it is the same," he commented, pointing out that the big difference is that online threats are exponential due to the existence of social networks and the proliferation of fake news, among other factors, and explaining how more than 15 years ago he realized that people lost more money because of what was said about, for example, a hack, than because of the intrusion itself.
Empresario Rafael Eladio Núñez Aponte, IT security expert and director at MásQueDigital (MQD), recently gave an interview to journalist Edgar Rincón (ITNEWS.LAT) where he shared his vision of the concept of online reputation and its importance, describing it as a reflection of the prestige of life in the digital world and giving some tips on how to act when it is deliberately affected.
"Just as in the physical world we must take care of our reputation and prestige, in the digital world it is the same," he commented, pointing out that the big difference is that online threats are exponential due to the existence of social networks and the proliferation of fake news, among other factors, and explaining how more than 15 years ago he realized that people lost more money because of what was said about, for example, a hack, than because of the intrusion itself.
Action and reaction
Empresario Rafael Eladio Núñez Aponte, who has since seen that there was a business opportunity and has dedicated himself to working on the online reputation of a large number of clients, recommends reacting in two ways when suffering any damage of this type. The first is not to panic (take care of the psychological and moral part), and the second is to make a diagnosis of the real picture of the scope and impact of the damage.
The expert talked about how nowadays different tools are used to x-ray the cases, weighing the reliability or not of the sources, the relevance or not of the media, the identification of potential perpetrators and, of course, the possible actions to take (reporting, denouncing, etc.).
Any online smear campaign is reportable because, as he explained, the integrated work between technology, legal management and lobby management is essential for the identification of reportable data.
Own responsibilities
When questioned about the effectiveness of digital platforms when dealing with this type of complaints, empresario Rafael Eladio Núñez Aponte commented that they usually respond quickly, but in no way are they to blame for the situation. In any case, he said, the responsibility falls on the victim himself due to his carelessness when dealing with the Internet, the ease with which he falls into all kinds of scam techniques, and how he tends to act when the vulnerability is already exposed.
Faced with this scenario, the expert reiterated his security recommendations, urging people to be more careful and to trust others, yes, but always verifying the identity of whoever is writing, calling or emailing them.
Finally, he spoke of the special care that should be taken with minors, explaining that effective and sincere communication is necessary with them, one in which it is explained to them that the Internet is full of predators, and in which not everything is repressed to prevent them from looking outside the home for what they cannot get inside.
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