My digital footprint

Last Updated: 27 February 2023
You are what you tweet poster
Downloadable assets

Campaign detail

What your employees do and say online, or how they use digital devices, can make them and your organisation vulnerable to a range of security threats. Some vulnerabilities can be obvious, such as posting or sharing confidential organisational information that puts employees, processes or assets at risk. Others may be less so, such as search engines storing search history or smart phones tracking geolocation data which may be exploited by those with malicious intent.

What is a digital footprint?

A digital footprint is the data that’s left behind whenever a person uses a digital service, or someone posts information about that person onto a digital forum, such as a social network.

Everyone is likely to have a digital footprint, and this is normal. Online activities such as photo sharing, dating, banking, shopping, gaming, professional networking and social networking all add to someone’s digital footprint. Others can contribute to an individual’s digital footprint by posting photographs or information about them online.

Why should employees manage their digital footprint?

Once something is shared online, it can be there forever – and what happens to this information may not always be under an employee’s control. For employees who work for organisations where they have privileged access to sites, information or assets, they need to be vigilant as their digital footprints could be of particular interest to those with malicious intent, such as criminals, violent protest groups and terrorist groups.

The ‘My Digital Footprint’ campaign is designed to provide practical steps that employees can take to minimise online security risks while still making full use of the many digital services available.

The campaign materials consist of the following:

  • My digital footprint campaign kit (guidance on how to use the materials as a part of a coordinated security behaviour campaign)
  • My digital footprint: a brief guide (an introductory footprint for employees)
  • My digital footprint: a guide to digital footprint discovery and management (a detailed booklet for employees on how to understand and manage their digital footprint
  • 8x posters in A3 and A4 size (each focused on a different digital footprint security behaviour) A campaign evaluation guide

Public Guidance