Ethical AI and the Future of Graphic Design

We're in an exciting time. AI tools are becoming must-haves for designers everywhere. These tools boost creativity, simplify workflows, and open up new possibilities.

AI is no longer just a future idea. It's a real partner for graphic designers. From brainstorming to final touches, AI helps every step of the way. It can generate fresh ideas, handle boring tasks, and fine-tune design elements quickly. This teamwork between people and AI doesn’t replace artists. Instead, it makes them even better, leading to more creative and efficient designs.

As we look into how AI is changing graphic design, we’ll see how it makes the field more accessible and groundbreaking. Welcome to the future of graphic design, where creativity and technology work hand in hand.

Standpoint of a Young Artist: Ayomide Olasoji

Meet Ayomide Olasoji. He’s been a designer with over five years in the industry. He loves to read and collect hardcovers. Every time he picks up a book, he gets immersed in its design, constantly thinking about how the cover could be improved. That’s how passionate he is with his design work. 

A short chat with Ayomide reveals many aspects of his creativity and how he is developing the brand he founded: The Ayomide Olasoji. 

“It’s all about harnessing the power of creativity, design, and strategy. It’s not just about aesthetics; it's about creating solutions—designs should both be visually appealing and sound. 

If Ayomide likes to find logic in his design, it is no wonder he is fascinated with how AI is changing the landscape for artists like him. 

“I believe that AI is revolutionizing the design industry, helping designers deliver work faster and more efficiently than ever before.”. 

Ayomide is confident about his craft and his skills. He never even hesitated for a moment when asked if he uses AI. 

“Using AI tools like ChatGPT, Krea, and Gemini, I streamline my workflow, and my creative processes. Everything gets more speed and accuracy.”

Ayomide treats AI as a collaborator in his design process. While he advocates the use of AI in ideation and enhancement, he is quick to point out that he “only supports the ethical use of AI.”. 

“I do not see AI as a competitor. AI complements my skills and capabilities.”

Ayomide shares how he benefits from using AI tools. 

Ideation

AI helps Ayomide brainstorm and generate new ideas. It’s where he looks for inspiration for a new logo, website layout, or marketing campaign. AI tools provide a wealth of creative possibilities that he can build upon.

Enhancement

Once Ayomide has a concept in place, AI assists in refining and enhancing his designs. Tools like Krea and Gemini suggest improvements, optimize color schemes, and automate repetitive tasks, allowing Ayomide to focus more on the creative aspects.

Using Ethical AI

Ayomide believes in using AI responsibly and ensuring that it serves as a force for good in the design industry. This means being transparent about AI's role in his work, respecting privacy and intellectual property, and continuously striving to use these tools in ways that benefit both creators and clients.

Ayomide's Top Projects

Over the years, Ayomide has worked on several remarkable projects. His top three favorites are:

Amazing Bites (2024)

Amazing Bites is a gourmet food brand that sought to revamp its visual identity and online presence. Through vibrant colors, mouth-watering imagery, and user-friendly interfaces, Ayomide created a digital experience that truly reflects the brand’s passion for high-quality, delicious food.

Deliv (2022)

Deliv, a delivery service startup, needed a sleek, intuitive app design. Ayomide focused on creating a clean, modern brand identity that captivated the target and delivered the brand promise.

Street Wear (2022)

Street Wear, a fashion brand that wanted to stand out in the crowded clothing industry. Ayomide's use of bold graphics, edgy typography, and a dynamic website layout helped craft a brand identity that captures the spirit and attitude of urban fashion.

The 100-Day Design Challenge

To keep pushing his boundaries and upskilling himself, Ayomide is on to a 100-Day Design Challenge. This challenge is a personal commitment to explore new design techniques, experiment with innovative tools, and expand his creative horizons every single day. It's also a stepping stone toward a major transition in his design career planned for 2025.

For Ayomide, this is a transformative experience. Each day presents a new opportunity to push the boundaries of creativity and refine his design skills. It is a deep dive into the essence of design thinking and problem-solving.

It’s looking to connect to dots so he can turn his ideas into logical reality. This means experimenting with different design elements, exploring new tools, and constantly seeking inspiration from the world around him. From typography to color theory, each aspect of design was explored.

This way, his designs become narratives. Each one telling a unique story, transporting viewers into the perspective of a young artist that tries to defy the art’s for art’s sake mantra. After all, design should be logical. It should be functional. 

“It is also a great learning process,” shares Ayomide. “As I connect with fellow designers, sharing insights and giving and receiving feedback, I realize many things. It is not only about collaboration but also deepening my understanding of different perspectives in the design world.” 

He realized how much he needs to learn and how far that is going to take him. 

But the challenge taught him discipline. He accepts the reality of continuous learning. It reaffirmed his belief that design is not just about aesthetics but about creating meaningful connections and experiences. That art is how he transforms reality into his design. This makes him more excited about the future of design and the endless possibilities it holds. 

Ayomide’s other projects are available in his social media accounts. He assures everyone that he won’t mind if people ask why he gets inspiration from looking at book covers. 

Behance / Dribble / Vzy / Notion / LinkedIn / X (formerly Twitter)

How AI Simplifies Email Marketing and Reduce Costs

Artificial intelligence is making email marketing more accessible and cost-effective for businesses of all sizes. As AI insights are incorporated into email marketing, companies are able to create more personalized messages, promote products or services, and build lasting relationships with their audience. The return on investment (ROI) for email marketing is impressive, often outperforming other marketing channels. According to research, every dollar spent on email marketing can yield an average return of $42, and professional marketers report a 760% increase in revenue from building email lists and using email campaigns.

The basic principles of email marketing revolve around delivering the right message to the right audience at the right time. Personalization is key, as tailored content connects more with recipients, leading to higher engagement rates. Segmentation, another core principle, involves dividing an email list into smaller, targeted groups based on demographics, behavior, or other criteria. This ensures that the content is relevant to each recipient. Regular and consistent communication helps maintain customer interest and loyalty, while analytics and metrics enable businesses to track the effectiveness of their campaigns and make data-driven decisions. AI and no-code options simplify these for companies.

AI and No-code for Email Marketing

Artificial Intelligence and no-code options automate complex tasks and eliminate the need for extensive coding knowledge. These technologies streamline the process of creating and managing email campaigns.

AI Simplifies Email Marketing: AI takes the guesswork out of email marketing by providing valuable insights and automation capabilities. With AI-powered tools like Brevo, marketers can analyze customer data to understand preferences and behaviors, allowing for the creation of highly personalized content. This level of personalization increases engagement rates and enhances stronger customer relationships. Aritifical Intelligence can also optimize campaigns by automatically generating subject lines, email content, and send times. This automation not only saves time but also ensures that emails are sent at the optimal time for each recipient, increasing the likelihood of engagement.

No-Code Options Cut Costs and Lower Barriers: No-code tools eliminate the need for programming skills, allowing marketers to design and launch email campaigns without hiring developers. This democratization of technology means that small businesses and startups can compete on an equal footing with larger companies. No-code platforms offer intuitive drag-and-drop interfaces, making it easy to create visually appealing emails without the need for HTML or CSS knowledge. This ease of use reduces the time and resources spent on email campaign development, allowing businesses to focus on strategy and content.

Cost Efficiency: By leveraging Artificial Intelligence and no-code tools, businesses can significantly reduce their email marketing costs. AI-driven automation minimizes the need for manual intervention, freeing up valuable time for marketing teams to focus on higher-level tasks. No-code platforms also reduce the need for expensive technical resources, as marketers can handle the entire campaign creation process independently. This combination of reduced labor costs and increased efficiency results in a higher return on investment (ROI) for email marketing efforts.

How Brevo is Changing Email Marketing

One tool that stands out in the crowded market of email marketing platforms is Brevo (formerly SendinBlue). Unlike more popular email marketing platforms such as MailChimp, Brevo offers less cost for handling campaigns with large contact list, strong subscriber segmentation and CRM features.

This innovative tool combines the power of AI with a no-code interface, making it accessible even to those without extensive technical skills. Brevo’s features are designed to help businesses achieve email marketing success efficiently and effectively.

Key Features of Brevo

AI-Powered Insights and Automation: Brevo uses artificial intelligence to offer intelligent insights and automation capabilities. It can generate creative subject lines and content suggestions based on data analysis, ensuring emails resonate with the target audience. AI-driven automation allows for personalized email sequences, triggered by specific recipient actions like opening an email or clicking a link.

No-Code Interface: The drag-and-drop editor simplifies the design process, enabling users to easily add images, text, and other elements to their emails. This intuitive interface allows non-programmers to create professional-looking emails without any coding knowledge.

Scalability: Brevo’s flexibility ensures that businesses can scale their email marketing efforts as they grow. The platform offers various paid plans to cater to different business needs, from small startups to large enterprises.

Comprehensive Analytics: Brevo provides detailed analytics and metrics, allowing businesses to track the performance of their campaigns and make informed decisions to optimize their strategies.

With Artificial Intelligence tools like Brevo at their disposal, marketers can channel their energy into what truly counts: generating innovative and creative ideas. AI-powered tools reliever the burden of routine tasks, and marketers can unleash their full creative potential, leading to better outcomes. With this, companies can design and launch superior email marketing campaigns, capturing the attention and engagement of their audience more effectively.

AI tools like Brevo also allows companies to streamline their operations, significantly reducing costs. By automating repetitive processes and optimizing workflow, businesses can allocate resources more efficiently and focus on strategic growth. This dual benefit of improved campaign quality and cost savings underscores impact of AI in marketing, driving companies to achieve their goals effectively.

Social Media Password Encryption Simplified

Social media password security is not a joke. After having my LinkedIn account hacked a week ago, I went full-mode on security protocols, enabling 2FAs and ensured all log-ins on all online accounts are monitored and sent to my emails.

But, this incident also made me re-inspect about cybersecurity, data protection and encryption. It made me realize how social media platforms are properly using these tools to protect their data and that of their users.

For you who breathe more than half of your life online and who maintain social media accounts on almost all platforms, it’s important to understand the manner in which your social media platforms protect your data and your privacy. So, here’s a simple basics on encryption. This is to allow you to re-inspect your password security and to be more aware of creating stronger social media passwords. This is very important in an online world where hacking is real and data breach is as real as your last heartbreak.

What is Encryption?

Encryption is turning readable data (called plaintext) into unreadable data (called ciphertext). This way, even if someone sees your data, they won’t be able to make sense of it without the key to unlock it. So, your plaintext social media password is turned into ciphertext when you enter it in a social media platform.

Here’s an easy way to think about encryption:

• Plaintext: Your original password (e.g., "8%0409Pjk!").
• Ciphertext: The encrypted version of your message (e.g., "XkP9!47z#1").
• Key: The secret code used to turn the plaintext into ciphertext.

So, in the world of online encryption, there are many encryption processes that different social media platforms use to encrypt or create ciphertext for your plain password. But, what’s more important is for you to understand how the encryption process looks like and how social media platforms store your passwords. This is the most sensitive process that sometimes make or break your data protection. The process of creating ciphertext, its storage along with the key and retrieval of both is where data breach can most likely happen. 

The Process of Social Media Password Encryption

Once the program reads your plain text social media password, it encrypts it using a special recipe, called an encryption algorithm, and a secret key.

Here’s how the program turns the plaintext password into ciphertext:

• The algorithm is a complex set of instructions that scrambles the password
• The key is a secret code used to control how the password is scrambled.

So, if the algorithm is like a lock, the key is what turns the lock and scrambles your password. The output of this process is called ciphertext, which looks like random gibberish.

• Example: If your plain text password is "MySecret123", after encryption it might look something like this: "4yQw7!zRp9$".
• Ciphertext Password: This is the scrambled version of your password that no one can understand without the key.

Storing Your Social Media Password

Now that your password is encrypted, the program stores the ciphertext in a database or file. This way, even if someone breaks into the database and steals the passwords, all they’ll see is the gibberish ciphertext. The stored password would look like "4yQw7!zRp9$" instead of "MySecret123". No one, not even the program itself, can read the original password without the encryption key.

Retrieving your Password from the Storage

This is called decryption. It means using the key to turn the ciphertext back into your password. When you want to log back in to your account, the program needs to check if the password you entered matches the one stored in the database.

The process would be:

1. You enter your password again, like "MySecret123".
2. The program retrieves the stored ciphertext, "4yQw7!zRp9$".
3. Using the same key that was used to encrypt the password, the program decrypts the ciphertext back into the original plain text password.
• Decryption is like unlocking the scrambled message using the key.
4. If the decrypted text matches the password you entered, the program knows it's the correct password.

• Plaintext Password: "MySecret123" (original)
• Ciphertext: "4yQw7!zRp9$" (stored in the database)
• Decryption Key: The secret code that turns the gibberish back into "MySecret123".

Advanced Encryption Standard or AES

So now that you must fairly understand the Encryption, Storage and Decryption process that social media platforms use for your passwords, it’s time to explain more about the key. There are different ways in which different algorithms use a key to encrypt or decrypt your social media password so we will need to go over first that for you to understand about the encryption key.

There are standards and advanced systems of encryption/decryption available. One of the most powerful algorithms is Advanced Encryption Standard or AES.  How does it work?

• Step 1: Break your message into pieces. AES splits the message into small chunks or blocks.
• Step 2: Scramble each piece multiple times. AES scrambles each block of the message multiple times. It is called rounds.
• Step 3: Use a secret code. AES uses a secret code, called key, to control how it scrambles and unscrambles your data.

The AES Encryption process

·       AES uses an encryption key from 128 bits, 192 bits, or 256 bits long. Bits are like tiny puzzle pieces. The longer the key, the harder it is to crack. So compared to a 128-bit key, 256-bit key is harder to crack.

·       AES takes your data and divides it into chunks called blocks. Each block is 128 bits (which is just a way to measure the size. So, if your password is "MySecret123” AES breaks it into manageable pieces.

·       AES doesn’t scramble your data just once. It scrambles it multiple times using different transformations:

• SubBytes: It replaces each byte (tiny piece of data) with another byte from a predefined table.
• ShiftRows: It shifts the rows of the data, making it even more scrambled.
• MixColumns: It mixes up the columns of data.
• AddRoundKey: AES also adds a part of the key to make sure the scrambling is linked to the secret code.

The number of rounds depends on the key length. The stronger the key, the more rounds it goes through. So, using a 256-bit encryption key needs more rounds and take longer to encrypt.

If My Social Media Passwords are Encrypted, Why Should I Worry?

Yes, social media platforms encrypt your passwords. But, it doesn’t mean it’s unbreakable. As you can see algorithms have processes to follow and when someone explicitly wants to break your password by doing a try-it-all process (brute force attack), it is possible. In principle, no password is un-breakable. The thing is, breaking your password is just a matter of time. So, the technique? Create a social media password that is long enough and with complexity combinations to make it hard for hackers to steal them. According to Hive Systems, an 8-character password with a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols can be cracked in 7 years. No hacker in his right mind would even try to crack a password of this kind. He'll die trying.

But, remember, this goes for social media passwords that do not form patterns like ABC, 123 or common words like PASSWORD. Make your passwords hard to guess. Avoiding patterned words, letters or numbers make it harder for hackers to guess. Use random and complex combinations. Also, most social media platforms provide 2FA and security questions. Enable these to ensure additional protection.  

Cybersecurity is a serious concern. Threats are everywhere, especially with how humans are using Artificial Intelligence to exploit loopholes in weak cybersecurity measures. Don't become the next victim of cybersecurity attacks. 

Remember, your social media password can be stolen and used to exploit and scam others. Don’t let it happen to you. Make your passwords are hacker-proof - use the right combinations and length. Change them as often as possible. 

Remote Job Hunting is Fun! (Said No One Ever)"

Have I been freelancing so long that I’m now officially unemployable? Or am I just too stubborn, convinced that a full-time remote job is out there, hiding like a shy cat? Should I just give in and consider onsite or hybrid jobs, or would that feel like going back to the Stone Age?

It was June 2024 when I dusted off my resume, reactivated my LinkedIn profile, and made peace with the fact that I was officially on the hunt for a full-time job again. I had spent the last four years freelancing—kicking off projects from the comfort of my home, tackling deadlines in coffee shops, and pretending my cat was a tough client to keep myself sane during the slow days. Life as a freelancer had its perks, but by early 2024, those perks started to feel a bit more like warning signs. Projects slowed, and so did the payments.

Rewind to 2020. I had been working at an incredible non-profit job. The work was meaningful, the people were wonderful, and then, like many of us, the pandemic hit. Cue the resignation letter, the panic, and the inevitable plunge into freelance work because, at the time, “flexibility” seemed like a dream. Fast forward four years, and flexibility had turned into unpredictability, and unpredictability had turned into “Okay, maybe it’s time to go back to a stable, full-time job.”

Phase 1: Facebook - The Unexpected Savior?

So, here’s something I never thought I’d say: Facebook, that infamous black hole of memes and unsolicited opinions, became my unexpected ally in the job hunt. I joined every “remote job” group imaginable. One minute I was scrolling past a family photo album from an aunt I haven’t spoken to in years, and the next, I was diving into a job post for a remote copywriter position.

Did I send my resume to 20 different strangers I’ll never meet? Yes. Did half of them reply? Absolutely not. But hey, that’s Facebook. It’s like throwing your resume into a well, then leaning in to listen for an echo… that never comes.

Oh, and I should mention that I did land a short gig as a Social Media Manager recently. Initially, I was supposed to help a book author for just two weeks, but she was so impressed with the content I was posting that she extended it to two months. Not bad, right? But that’s as far as it went. The work was solely focused on promoting her book, and since that was the only reason she needed a Social Media Manager, there wasn’t much more for me to do. She did say she’d hire me again if and when she publishes another book… but who knows when that’ll be? And there is not a chance that was going to be a full-time job offer. 

Phase 2: LinkedIn - The Serious Suitor

Next up was LinkedIn, where job hunting suddenly felt like a professional sport. You don’t just apply; you network. You comment on posts. You try to sound intelligent, insightful, and nonchalant, all while your self-doubt is screaming, “You haven’t done this in years! You’re rusty!”

And LinkedIn wasn’t always a smooth ride. I had three close calls. One with MySalonSuite, and two with Megaphone Marketing. Each time, it felt like I was one awkward Zoom call away from landing the gig. Each time, I could see myself getting cozy with the idea of having health insurance again (oh, how I miss you), and each time… nope. Rejection. Sometimes I didn’t even get an email explaining why. Other times, I got the good old “We’ve decided to move in a different direction” line, which honestly, feels like breaking up with someone who doesn’t know you exist.

Phase 3: JobStreet - The Old Reliable

Then there was JobStreet, the job board that had been around since I first learned how to type. This was my “Hail Mary” strategy. When the LinkedIn networking marathons grew exhausting and Facebook felt like a joke, JobStreet was my safe harbor. It was like the job-seeking version of comfort food—familiar and maybe a bit outdated, but it got the job done.

I threw myself at writing gigs left and right. I even managed to land a few writing tests. I’ve been writing for years, so surely this would be a breeze, right? Wrong. I completed tests that felt like marathons (because let’s be honest, some writing tests are longer than they need to be). I submitted work I was proud of, only to hear… nothing. Or worse, to hear a polite, “Thanks, but we’ve decided to go in a different direction.” Again with the directions!

By month three, I was questioning everything. Was it me? Was I too old to be on TikTok, but too young to be on Facebook groups? Had my four years as a freelancer somehow made me unemployable in the “real” world?

Phase 4: The Internship – A Glimmer of Hope?

In the midst of all the job rejections, something interesting happened. I landed an internship with a Germany-based placement agency. Now, I know what you’re thinking: "Internship? Isn’t that for college kids?" But honestly, this internship is different. It aligns with my values, the remote work setup is ideal, and—thank goodness—I don’t have to pull graveyard shifts! Germany is just seven hours behind, so my workday starts at 3 PM and wraps up at 11 PM. No midnight deadlines, no weird sleeping patterns. It’s challenging but fun, and working with the other interns is a blast (most of the time).

Oh, and get this—want to know what my internship task is? Job sourcing and applying for positions on behalf of highly-skilled non-European software developers, helping them land their dream jobs in Germany! The irony isn’t lost on me. Here I am, scrambling to find my own full-time remote gig, while my internship has me doing exactly what I should be doing for myself! Haha. But, to be fair, it’s a bit of a different game. I’m mostly searching for onsite and hybrid roles for them, while I’m stubbornly convinced that there’s a fantastic remote job out there just waiting for me. Can I really pull it off? Guess we’ll see!

Our team leader is approachable, which is a relief, although, I’ll admit, the two meetings we have every day sometimes feel like they’re trying to kill me. But here’s the kicker: I’ve been made Intern Team Leader! Pretty cool, right? But after more than a month in this role, I’m still waiting for the next step—an actual contract. The waiting game is never-ending.

How The Remote Job Hunting is Working Out Now

I am holding my breath for two job applications I submitted—one from Facebook and one from LinkedIn, both for content writing positions. I’m crossing my fingers, hoping that one of these will finally help me reach that dream of landing a full-time gig. 

I am also using a lot of insights from AI tools to make my remote job hunting less of a task. Artificial Intelligence is doing me a lot of favor since there are many AI tools that job applicants like me can choose from. 

Job hunting in a remote setup is a strange mix of freedom and heartbreak. One minute you’re basking in the comfort of your own home, wearing sweatpants, clicking “apply” with ease. The next minute, you’re refreshing your inbox obsessively, wondering if the algorithm ate your resume or if they just didn’t like your font choice. Or was it the font color? 

But through all the rejections, the ghosted applications, and the almost-but-not-quite-there interviews, I’ve learned a thing or two. Patience? Yes. Resilience? For sure. And maybe a little dark humor because honestly, that’s how you survive the rollercoaster of modern job hunting.

So here I am, still in the game, still applying, and still hopeful that somewhere out there, the right job is just one more awkward Zoom interview away. Or was that last interview in Google Meet?

How I Reclaimed My Hacked LinkedIn Account

Hacked LinkedIn account on a Saturday morning. On a weekend that should have been spent chilling. Picture this: you roll out of bed, do a few stretches to loosen some muscles, check emails, and casually open  LinkedIn, only to be hit with a shocking sight—hacked LinkedIn account! Your profile is now an alternate version of reality. Your job experience? Poof, gone. Your photo? Replaced with a funny face with too much makeup applied to it. And everything is written in Chinese! I've never felt that irritated seeing Chinese characters populating every corner of my LinkedIn profile. And I thought I had all the cyberscecurity loopholes fixed for me!

The Horror Unfolds

It all started on a regular Saturday, just like any other, when I realized my LinkedIn profile had been hijacked. My carefully curated professional history had vanished into thin air, replaced by… nothing. My profile picture had morphed into the ridiculous face of a stranger, and the entire page was now in Chinese. I couldn’t help but feel like I had been thrown into a parallel universe where my career just didn’t exist.

The LinkedIn Hacked Account Recovery Mission

But instead of panicking, I channeled my inner detective and prepared to reclaim my hacked LinkedIn account with a smile (and a pack of chilled lasagna). Here's how the great LinkedIn comeback unfolded:

1.  Activate Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Step one was enabling 2FA, which added a secret handshake to my LinkedIn login. Now, anyone trying to access my account would need not just my password but also a code sent to my phone. Extra security for the win!

2.  Rebuild My Profile (The Hard Way): With 2FA locked and loaded, it was time to do the painstaking work of manually rebuilding my profile. Think of it as writing my career autobiography from scratch. I reset the language back to English, swapped out the fake photo for my own, and started adding my job experience one by one. Annoying? Yes. But also a fun walk down memory lane. So, that’s goodbye to a hacked LinkedIn account and hello to a better profile.

3.  Create a Stronger Password:  I went full fortress mode with a new, super-strong password, mixing in letters, numbers, and symbols like a hacker-proof cocktail.

Why Did It Happen?

Turns out, I’m not the only one who’s been through this digital nightmare. LinkedIn hacks aren’t just the stuff of tech folklore—they’re a real and present danger. In 2012, there were over 6.5 HackedLinkedIn accounts. Fast forward to 2021, and data from 700 million LinkedInusers was found up for sale on hacker forums. Thankfully, LinkedIn has since beefed up its security, encouraging all of us to enable 2FA and embrace strong passwords like true cyber warriors.

Alright, I did not activate the 2FA before so it must really been that easy to get hold of my account. So, how did my account get caught in this mess? Well, here are a few possible culprits:

• Weak Passwords: I must have clicked a fake link associated with my LinkedIn account so that I practically invited hackers into my profile. 
• Phishing Scams: Those shady emails asking for personal details? Yes, clicking on them can hand hackers the keys to your account.
• Data Breaches: If a site you use gets hacked, and you’ve used the same password for LinkedIn, congratulations—you’ve just given hackers a shortcut to your profile. 

But, really, I am still confused as to how my account got hacked. I have a unique password for LinkedIn and I also did not click on any dubious links. I am planning to do an online activity audit on my laptop to check for any suspicious activities before the Saturday hacking incident. Maybe, this would answer the questions that are still hanging in the air for me. Until then, I am more bent to believe that my hacked LinkedInaccount must have been because of a data breach similar to the 2021 incident. 

And, I should read up on cybersecurity best practices because after this, I feel like I have turned rusty from the core. I keep asking myself what I have missed out and that this happened to me. 

Tips to Avoid Future Hacked LinkedIn Account

To avoid a LinkedIn account from becoming a hacker's next target, follow these tips:

• Enable 2FA: Always add that extra layer of security.
• Use Strong, Unique Passwords: No more reusing passwords across multiple sites.
• Watch Out for Phishing: Be skeptical of suspicious emails and never click on shady links.
• Regularly Update Passwords: Refresh your passwords periodically to stay ahead of hackers.

Reclaiming my hacked LinkedIn account was frustrating, especially since I had to manually type my whole professional experience. But, it taught me a valuable lesson: online security is no joke. So, if you ever find yourself in a similar situation, stay calm, enable 2FA, and rebuild your profile like a pro. In the end, every adventure—digital or not—has its highs and lows, and this one was nothing short of a rollercoaster.

Additional  Reminders to Never Lose Data in Case of Hacking

I had a hard time recovering my profile data after it was hacked. So, you might want to do the following to avoid losing information: 

1. Backup Your Data. Whatever article posts or images you post on Social Media. Make sure you have them backed up. Google Drive is a nice tool for your files. 
2. Download Your LinkedIn Profile. This is a very helpful tool in order to have your data safely tucked. Just go to your profile, Click on the Resources Button and choose Save to PDF. 
3. Download Your LinkedIn Videos. You can use ClipGrab for this. ClipGrab is free so you should not have any problems. 
4. Save a Copy of Your Data on LinkedIn. This lets you save all your articles, posts, profiles, connections and recommendations. Select whichever you think is necessary. 

The possibility of losing data is part of our online life. Cybersecurity risks are part of it all. With advanced hacking tools that exploit Artificial Intelligence to find loopholes in cybersecurity measures, it becomes easier for hackers. And once we become victims of these attacks, they can harm our online content in a way we do not expect. The best way to make sure they won't be lost is to do the steps above. No matter how careful and how you follow the rules on online security, sometimes there are people who just know how to get around cybersecurity loopholes. They have advanced tools and when we miss out on important aspects, we become vulnerable. So, to protect yourself further, backup your data and live your lfie online worry-free.