You don’t have to look to bitcoin to see how much technology has changed our financial reality. The fact that most of us transact without actually touching cash most of the time has exposed the abstract nature of money. Technology is the ideal medium for holding material wealth precisely because of this.
This extends to investing and trading in today’s world. Investing online is so easy that complete amateurs can do it. Technology is better at predicting the financial markets than humans are. You can see how it exerts its supremacy with robo-advisor, at least the best of them.
Of course, the problem that arises with our investment activity moving entirely to an online platform is that cyberthreats are increased.
I’m not talking about the type of full-blown economic terrorism represented on shows like Mr Robot. The entire system doesn’t need to come down for us to lose our money or data. By investing online, we’re putting a lot of data and money at risk.
Here is how you can do so while keeping yourself secure.
Ways to Safely Invest Online
Look for secure platforms
The most significant choice you're going to make when you choose to invest online is which platform you're going to use. When choosing a platform, security should be your number one priority. No matter how good a platform is, if it is not secure it is useless and should be avoided at all costs.
How do you know if a platform is secure? You'll have to look through the reviews from tech sites, in addition to what the financial experts say. After all, the tech experts will have done research into how secure the technology is. No technology is 100% secure, of course, and even cryptocurrencies have had significant problems. This is in spite of the fact that the safety of blockchain technology is cryptocurrency’s cornerstone.
However, there are clearly some companies doing more to secure their users’ data and money than others. Look out for whether a platform has had security issues and how they responded. Often, the way they take accountability is more important than how secure they were at the start.
Use security software
You should always use a VPN, no matter what you are doing online. But when your online activity includes investing, it is more important than ever. Without a VPN, hackers could get access to your account details even when you are not actively accessing your account.
Think about just how much data you are sharing with your investment platform. You are sharing your personal information, as well as the details of whatever account you're investing money from and the account you're withdrawing your gains into.
As it has always been, knowledge is power. The more you know about security threats and scams, the less likely you are to fall for them. You will take extra effort to ensure your VPN is active at all times. You will think twice before entering your account details into a link sent over email.
Investing online is a great idea, even if you are a total beginner. However, you must be aware of the security threats, and take measures to protect your money and data.
