End-of-Life Digital Footprint – Digital CxO Podcast EP113

Hello, and welcome to the digital CXO podcast. I'm Amanda Ani, and I'm so excited to be here today with Joe Warn Mott. He is a security expert at Hosting Advice.

How are you doing? Hi, Amanda. I'm good.

Oh, how are you? Thanks for having me. Thank you for coming on our show.

So can you share a little bit about hosting advice? What do y'all do over there? com.

And, uh, it's a website where we simplify web hosting decisions through expert reviews, industry insights, and, and lots of, lots of educational content. Um, so we help millions of business owners and IT professionals each month make informed decisions about their digital presence, um, from selecting the right hosting provider to understanding security implications of just building a website. Uh, so, you know, recently we conducted this, this sort of eye-opening survey on Americans attitudes towards digital footprints and end of life planning, which, which isn't usually thought of when, when, uh, when you're planning about things that that may be involved at the end of your life, such as, you know, a trust or a will or anything like that.

Um, so it revealed, uh, just so much, uh, information and these significant gaps in how people prepare for managing their digital assets after death. So, you know, I'm really excited to talk about it with you and, uh, yeah, thanks for having me on. Absolutely.

This is a very important topic that I feel a lot of people will be tuned into today. So first of all, tell me what were some of the results, the really eye-opening results that you can share from this survey? Yeah, so I guess the key point, the, the, the one that really stood out to me is that, uh, about 80% of Americans recognize the importance of a digital afterlife plan, but only about 57% create one.

And that shows, to me, at least that end of life planning is, you know, it's hard enough as it is and, uh, digital assets are often overlooked. Uh, so, you know, it, it's, it's sort of a morose topic that, that most people don't really wanna talk about or they, they just, you know, push it off and push it off through, uh, through, over years and years. But considering how, how vast our digital presences are these days, uh, this should especially be part of that planning and we should talk about it more.

It, we should become more comfortable with the idea of, you know, what, what should happen with my, my Facebook account or my business website or, uh, my Fidelity account or, you know, an investing or banking account. All of those, those elements online, uh, there are thousands of, or hundreds to a thousands of accounts that you and I both have control of over our lives. And, you know, we need to, uh, understand what happens to them afterwards.

Absolutely. And I think when people do try to plan, they are thinking more on that financial side and less about all the social media pages that they're part of, the apps that they're part of. And these days, I don't know about you, but I have like a hundred apps all organized on my phone.

So, but I don't think we think about things like that when it comes to afterlife planning. Right. And that's absolutely true.

Um, I've experienced it a few times, uh, with my, my grandparents. My dad has gone through a lot of it where he, he has to manage, uh, you know, if someone, uh, is to pass away, you have to manage all of these accounts and you don't realize that there is such a burden afterwards, um, to some of your loved loved ones who might have to, um, go through some, some legal action just to get access to your accounts. And, uh, that's, you know, it's a bit scary.

Uh, there are, there are many common security issues that people face with digital assets after they pass away, such as like, uh, unauthorized access, iden identity theft and emotional distress. That's the one that I always tend to focus on because we don't realize, you know, our loved ones might really struggle just to get access to, um, a banking account. You know, something that you might think, well, my, my spouse or, uh, my kids or other loved ones, they might of course have access to my bank account after I pass away, or, uh, or my investment account or my social media account, or, or perhaps a small, a family business website or a domain name, anything like that.

Um, but it's not as clear cut as that. Uh, you know, it, it, you, you might find out that it's much more difficult. You have to go through a lawyer.

You might have to prove that one, you're related to this person and two, that that person actually wanted you to have access, uh, to these accounts. Uh, so there is, yeah, there's a lot that goes into it, and that's why it's, it's, it's very important to, to, to have some sort of plan. One thing I've noticed, I do know that's a big concern on Facebook when someone passes away, I've seen accounts get hacked, you know, those stagnant accounts that are sitting there, and somebody will take over those accounts and try to use their identity to manipulate individuals.

But aside from that, what are some, from a cybersecurity standpoint, what are some of the negative implications of not having access to any of those social media accounts or apps after someone passes away? Yeah. Um, like I said before, there, there are, uh, you know, plenty of, of issues when it comes to emotional distress.

But, uh, I would say the, the, the real, uh, tangible implications would be like unauthorized access. So if a hacker were to target an inactive account in a fraud scheme, uh, you know, that could happen when you're alive. But it's, it's also, uh, you know, there are all these, these stagnant accounts when, when people pass away that are just kind of, of sitting there to be, uh, taken advantage of in, in, uh, fraud schemes and scams and all sorts of things.

Uh, if, if you are not, uh, controlling the, the logging credentials. And then there's also identity theft, again, something that we think about when we're alive. Um, and many of us fall victim to identity theft, but it can also happen afterwards where a deceased individual's personal data, uh, can be exploited.

Um, so those would be, yeah, the two main things. And then of course, the emotional distress, uh, would be a core implication that I've always seen as, as something that people don't often think of. Absolutely.

Having to go in and handle someone's Facebook account after they've passed away and filtering through all the messages. And how do you respond to all those individuals? I, I imagine it could definitely take a toll emotionally.

So what advice do you have for people when they're planning for, um, their afterlife plans? What advice do you have? Um, well, I would start with trying your best to not feel overwhelmed by it.

Um, and I think conversations like this can be helpful to, to realize that, you know, it's normal. This is something that all of us have to go through. Um, one of the key stats that we found is that 57% of, of the respondents in the survey, they felt overwhelmed by the digital afterlife planning, which often leads to inaction.

And that's the worst thing that could happen. Um, so I would say that my four, uh, key steps that anyone can take right now to make it much easier, and, you know, you can just follow it step by step is, is to one, uh, choose a di digital executor, uh, someone you can trust to manage your online accounts. And often this is, um, a professional, so like a, like a lawyer or it could be someone you trust, uh, uh, one of your relatives or one of your kids.

Um, but it, it often is a combination as well. So it would be, be something more official like a lawyer and then, uh, uh, someone in your family. And then of course, I would say create an inventory.

So list all accounts and passwords in a secure location. My preference for that would be, uh, a digital password manager. So something that I can, uh, control myself digitally and then pass on to someone else with one, like master password.

Um, but there's also the potential, I know my dad, he just put it all in a binder, but it was very nicely organized all the accounts and passwords for every single one of his financial accounts, um, that, that, uh, we, as you know, his, his, uh, his, uh, kids could look at and easily identify, you know, what are, what are the account that we need to either shut down or the accounts that might be, um, might require maintenance, or the ones that might require us to, to manage yeah, in the future because they have money in them or they have, uh, sensitive information. Um, and then the third I would say is to communicate your wishes. So decide whether accounts should be deleted, uh, should they be memorialized or should they be transferred?

Because many times, uh, the next of kin won't know what to do. Do you know I, is there an account? Uh, or is there an old small business websites, uh, that could potentially have value and did that person, uh, want it to be deleted or memorialized or something like that?

Um, there's more personal decisions than there are definitely more practical, uh, official decisions that you might need to make. Uh, but lastly, I would say, and this is something everyone can do it, you could also bump this up to number one, and that you should review the platform settings. And that is very easy.

You could do it right now, you could do it tonight. Uh, some sites allow you to designate a legacy contact, and that is one of the, the easiest ways to streamline the process. So, you know, if you went onto your, uh, uh, brokerage account or, uh, where you have your IRA or where you have just your regular checking account, um, you can, you know, write in there where, who you want to have access to your account next.

And, uh, you know, it might not grant you total access. Uh, you might still have to go through some sort of legal process, but it at least gets the ball rolling and shows that, you know, the person who owned that account before made a very, uh, direct action to, to identify the person they want to, uh, to access that account. Absolutely.

So if somebody doesn't take these steps and do this pre-planning, and they're left trying to gain access into all these various apps and social media platforms, how difficult is it at that point? Are they even able to? Uh, yeah.

I mean, they are, they just have to get legal permission, and that's something that, that no one really wants to deal with, especially after someone has passed away. Um, family members often struggle to access accounts without legal permission. So, uh, and, and there's other things too.

So it's like if there are unpaid subscriptions or digital assets, uh, one of my favorite examples is, uh, like a domain name. If you had, uh, a family business that had a website with a domain name, uh, that could be lost or exploited forever, um, because you could, it could, uh, become expired and then there could be a, uh, digital squatter that purchases that domain and then you never have access to it, and you totally lose that, that, uh, that branding whatever value behind the domain there is. And then, uh, just, I don't know, I guess the legacy, uh, behind having, uh, a family business like that.

Um, and then of course, old accounts can also linger online. Uh, so I, I covered some of, uh, the, the things that could happen with that leading to potential misuse. Uh, but yeah, you definitely don't wanna be leaving, uh, certain accounts online just for anyone to, to, to scrape.

Absolutely. There's so many things to think about just from what you've mentioned that I would not have considered. I'm sitting here thinking, okay, what do I have online?

You know, and there's a lot. So it really is important to think about. So now we have this new technology, AI has come on the scene, now there's even more to think about mm-hmm.

With the implications of AI use from different threat actors. Um, where are your thoughts on ai? Uh, well, in terms of, uh, the digital afterlife, uh, I guess it's, it's really no different that, like if are, are you asking if, you know, you were to sign up for like a chat GPT account or, uh, Well, I know that now we have DeepFakes ai, you know, being used to still images, um, turn, you know, turn into different stories about people that look real, that aren't, Right.

Right. And yeah, that kind of opens up a whole nother can of worms. Uh, you know, these could be digital assets that you, um, never really owned in the first place because they were either manipulated or they were stolen from you, or maybe you did own them in the first place and they were taken, um, or they were just created out of, out of an air, uh, almost.

Um, so yeah, we're gonna have to, uh, see hopefully some sort of regulations or, uh, oversight to, to figure out, you know, let's say, yeah, there, there is some sort of, uh, deep fake or, or a video or an audio clip or, uh, a picture that is created, uh, using your persona or your likeness. Um, how would that play into the, the, the equation? Uh, you know, would you be able to claim ownership of it and have it shut down?

Um, the issue is that it's already difficult to do that when you're alive. Um, so yeah, I mean, there's still a lot to be discussed and, and you know, like we all know we're in the wild west when it comes, uh, to ai, but, um, in terms of protecting yourself, uh, yeah, there, there's, there's, uh, a lot to be said, but it, it, it's still, we're, we're still kind of waiting to see, uh, what happens with all that. Most definitely.

Well, if there was one key takeaway you could leave our audience with today, what would that be? Um, I would say that, uh, don't feel overwhelmed when it comes to the digital afterlife. Um, I pushed it off for a very, very long time, uh, not even just digital afterlife, but creating a will and testament and, uh, you know, trying to figure out what's best for my family if I, if something were to happen to me today or in 30, 40 years, you know, whenever that may be.

Um, but I, you know, I just think everyone should know that, uh, the world is, is becoming a little bit more complicated with AI and all of that. Uh, and it can feel overwhelming and it can feel like you have a lack of knowledge, um, but you have the most control over your digital identity. Um, and there often is this false sense of security that many assume that their family can access accounts easily.

Uh, but that's not really the case. There are legal barriers that exist. So I would, uh, try your best to, to know that, that you're in control of all of it.

And even if you have a lack of knowledge, there are people that can help you out. There are lawyers, reputable lawyers who, um, uh, uh, so, you know, you can consult with an, a state deter, uh, a state lawyer and, uh, you know, they can be really helpful and just walk you through the entire thing and essentially write it up for you completely. Um, so that that lowers that, that level of overwhelmingness, uh, that I think a lot of people really struggle with.

Um, but yeah, I, I just want people to be confident and, and know that this is the best for their future and the future of their family going forward. Well, thank you for coming on the show. It's certainly something I'm gonna have to put on my to-do list now.

So thank you so much, and thank you to our audience. Stay tuned. There's more.