Cyber-crime is one of the biggest threats to business, costing the UK economy over £29 billion each year. To celebrate National Cyber Security Awareness Month, we have put together a quick list of top tips that you can implement to improve the level of cyber security within your organisation and at home.
Double your login protection
Two factor authentication, or multi-factor authentication, help to ensure that you are the only person able to access your account. By confirming your login attempt with a second device, such as a mobile phone, you drastically reduce the likelihood of someone being able to login to your account unnoticed.
Shake up your password protocol
Ensure that you have unique and complex passwords set for each of your accounts. By ensuring your password is different for each account, you reduce the risk of multiple accounts being hacked at once.
The National Centre for Cyber Security advise the use of three random words as passwords, steering clear of relative’s names, pets names, keyboard patterns and other common things that can be easily guessed or found by cyber criminals. The trouble with this is it can be difficult to remember individual passwords for each online account.
The use of a password manager, such as LastPass, helps to ensure that all of your passwords are secure. This solution generates strong passwords, stores them so you don’t need to remember them all and will even prompt you when they need to be updated.
If you connect, you must protect
Before connecting to public Wi-Fi, like at airports and hotels, ensure that the network is legitimate before connecting and avoid completing sensitive activities (e.g. banking) that require passwords or credit card details. Where possible, you should connect to your personal hotspot, as it is often a much safer alternative to free public Wi-Fi.
Think before you click
Over 90% of successful cyber-attacks begin with a malicious email. Cyber-criminals now commonly use phishing tactics, which prey on human error, waiting for people to click links and open attachments containing malware and other threats. If you have any concerns about an email, even if it appears to be legitimate, do not click any links or open attachments. You should follow your organisation’s protocol for reporting suspicious emails, or contact your IT department for professional advice. Remember, think before you click.
Many organisations now run simulated phishing tests to their employees, helping to re-enforce the “think before you click” mantra. Contact us to learn more or for a 30 day free trial.
Update automatically
No device is immune to viruses, malware, or other form of cyber-attack. By ensuring that your device is updated and patched, you are preventing many known threats. Where possible, you should ensure automatic updates are enabled and that you have suitable antivirus and anti-malware solutions installed.
Of course, there are many more measures that organisations and individuals should take to protect themselves against cyber threats. The Eventura team take a multi-dimensional approach that looks at people, processes and technology to develop a cyber-security strategy for now and in the future. If we can help answer any of your questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
