How To Protect Your Digital Legacy

In an age of convenience over security, staying aware of your online activities and digital assets is more crucial than ever before. At our annual spring seminar, we discussed the topics of cyber security and planning for your digital legacy.

Our team held our annual Spring Brunch Seminar on May 11^th, 2019. This year we focused on cyber security and digital legacy. We hosted the following guest speakers that each brought invaluable information to our clients:

Greg Markell, CEO of Ridge Canada
Mark Arbique, Lawyer at Arbique & Ahde
Patrick McGarry of Hulse, Playfair & McGarry Funeral & Cremation Services
Robert Cook, Assistant Branch Manager, RBC

During the session we learned how to plan what should be done with your digital assets and online legacy upon incapacity or death. We also discussed staying aware of your online activities in an age of convenience over security.

Here are our biggest takeaways from the presentations:

What are digital assets?

Digital assets are any digital items perceived as having value
There are two kinds:
- Physically controlled digital assets – physical storage of information on devices (eg. Hardware, memory storage devices, gift cards, etc.)
- Digitally stored digital assets – subscription or membership to online products and assets (eg. Timeshares, loyalty points, cloud stored information, email, etc.)

What is digital legacy?

The digital information and presence of an individual online, such as through social media or data they have created, following their death

How can you incorporate your digital assets and legacy in your estate planning?

Ensure someone you trust, such as your Power of Attorney or Executor, has access to your digital information, such as passwords for email accounts, online businesses, photos, financial accounts, etc.
Make it easy for your executor to find and access your digital information
- Where you can convert digital assets to paper, do so.
- Upload digital files to the cloud or to a digital asset management site such as Canto
- Make a hard copy of passwords for all online accounts, and keep in central location
- Store gift cards in a file folder
Append your social media will to your last will and testament. If you do not already have a will, consider writing one.
How do you want your legacy to be viewed? Determine the following:
- What’s personal? (business accounts, financial accounts, etc.)
- What’s private? (information you don’t wish others such as your children to see or have access to)
- What’s public? (what do you want the public to see about you online? Do you want your social media presence to survive you? Should these accounts be disabled upon death, remain untouched, or edited to commemorate your career accomplishments, cherished photos, etc.?)

Discussing Cyber Security

As smart phones become commonplace, with countless applications at our disposal, we are reminded to stay vigilant in what kinds of digital devices/apps/websites we use
- Be cognizant of what you sign up for online, or what information you allow applications to access and store.
- Check app permissions – does it access information on your smartphone that does not relate to the application you are using? (eg. Photos)
If you aren’t being directly sold a product, then you are the product.
Where is your information being stored, and is there encryption?
Password variation is the greatest defense against unwanted access to your information
- LastPass is a recommended password manager to organize and maintain strong passwords for various professional and personal online accounts: https://www.lastpass.com/business-password-manager
- ID Assist is a recommended identify theft monitoring platform that scans your personal information on the dark web for data breaches: https://www.idassist.com/app/id-assist/en/home

Tips for Bank Security and Fraud Prevention

Check your credit bureau history once per month. This is free and is not a hit to your credit rating, and allows you to detect potential fraudulent activity. You can view your credit history through your RBC online bank account.
Always log off and close a web browser when you are finished using a website to prevent others from gaining access without your permission or knowledge.
Pay attention to the URL, especially when performing more risky activities like online shopping
- A lock sign in the URL box generally indicates a site is more secure
- If a site begins with https: the URL is secure (“s” indicates secure).
- An http: without “s” is not secure. Do not shop online or enter private information such as banking details on unsecure sites.
Stay safe at Tax Season. CRA will never call or email you with a link. They will only send you a formal letter through the mail, or secure message you through your secure CRA account online.
Always destroy cheques after they have been deposited and cleared to avoid cheque fraud
Wire transfer requests & email hacking
- Check the email address for slight variations
- If you weren’t expecting it, don’t open it!
- When sending funds through online wire transfer, use strong passwords that are hard to guess.
- Implement Dual Controls for payment transactions – ensure at least two people must approve a transaction before it goes through
Educate your employees about online safety, such as not logging into public wifi (etc. coffee shops, airports, etc.)