With recent news of NSA + PRISM collection methods, more confusion has emerged around what it is/isn’t collecting on you without your permission. The topic been a hot button to say the least, and it’s about to get even hotter.

XKeyscore is an NSA tool that collects ‘nearly everything a user does on the internet’. You’re familiar with the Edward Snowden leak, but as we learn more and more about XKeyscore, the more unsure we are about who has access to what. Your digital data, a.k.a. your digital footprint, is in a lot of ways as important as your actual fingerprint. The digital data you produce on your smart devices, comprises the personalized genomes that make up your digital DNA.

Now the NSA and others seem to have access to that digital DNA. From The Guardian’s story:

The purpose of XKeyscore is to allow analysts to search the metadata as well as the content of emails and other internet activity, such as browser history, even when there is no known email account (a “selector” in NSA parlance) associated with the individual being targeted.

Email monitoring, chats, browsing history and other internet activity — all of it is fair game. The report is pretty extensive, but at the risk of sounding like Chicken Little, educate yourself and come to your own conclusions.

5 Tips to Secure + Back Up Personal Data

In the meantime, we’ve got a few tips on securing and backing up your personal data storage, shared by Abhik Mitra, Product Manager for Data Recovery at Kroll Ontrack:

• Secure your data with a backup, then check and test it regularly

Take the time to invest in a backup solution and set up a backup schedule. Make sure backups are running regularly and in accordance with a determined schedule. Results of a recent study by Kroll Ontrack showed that while 60 percent of respondents had a backup solution in place at the time of data loss, the backup was not current or working properly. If you’ve got a backup solution, use it! If you don’t, invest in one.

• Organization is key

It may seem simple, but forming an organized, neat folder structure with logical names can help identify important documents and records quickly and more efficiently. This also lowers the likelihood that you’ll accidentally delete files. If you still find yourself in this situation, don’t panic. A do-it-yourself software tool like Ontrack Easy Recovery 10.1 can help locate accidentally deleted data and quickly and easily restore it. You can download a free trial and even view your recoverable data before purchasing the full version of the software.

• Break out the dust buster 

Dust can affect your computer’s cooling system and cause overheating, leading to a system crash and possible data loss. Be smart when choosing cleaning products and avoid eating and drinking near your computer. Take steps to avoid summer weather storm-caused data loss too. Buy a surge protector, elevate media off the ground and power off equipment when you’re not using it. Don’t become a statistic and find yourself on our annual top ten list of data disasters. Last year’s list, all of which were successful data recoveries, represented how the increasing reliance on electronic data and reliability of technology is often met by human error.

• (Carefully) out with the old 

Old hard drives and hardware can take up space and gather dust. Before you dispose of or donate your old device, be sure to completely delete the once-valuable data it may still hold. Deletion programs, such as Ontrack Eraser 4.0, will ensure that old information is deleted completely with no readable traces left behind. A 2013 Ponemon Institute survey of small to midsize businesses in the United States revealed that 55 percent of respondents had experienced a data breach. Almost all of these cases involved compromised electronic records that could have been protected had the data been properly wiped.

• Sometimes Mom doesn’t always know best 

If you do encounter data loss, you may be causing more damage than good by trying to recover the data on your own with at-home remedies without contacting a professional data recovery specialist first. Kroll Ontrack saw a 161 percent increase in mobile device data recoveries alone from 2011 to 2012. With more people storing valuable personal and business data on their mobile devices, the demand for data recovery for mobile phones will only continue to climb. If you do find yourself in this situation, power off the device immediately. The longer you wait, the more likely critical data will be overwritten or the drive will corrode. Also, know what you want. The key to recovering data quickly is to know what data to target. Communicate to your data recovery provider what data is most critical to better ensure a timely and accurate recovery.

Hope you enjoyed this morning breakfast bite. I’d recommend spring cleaning your digital data every 90 days or so. The costs both physical and time-related in doing so are much cheaper than the consequences.