WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?

 

With October as Cyber Security Awareness month, there’s no better time to dive into what it means to be digitally secure and to listen to feedback from experts in the tech-world.  In a constantly moving and advancing digital world, it’s more important now than ever to make sure devices are secure whether it’s for personal or business use. There have been several big-ticket instances in the past few years where malicious scammers have broken through company security forces and held software for ransom, stole sensitive client information, phished passwords from high ranking officials, and various other attacks.

One might hastily think “were these attacks avoidable?” The answer probably isn’t as easy as just saying “yes,” but using better methods for security from the groundwork up certainly could help reduce risk. Sometimes, these deviant occurrences are unavoidable, and the user or company is targeted for no particular reason. Other times, the user may have inadvertently compromised their own device, or worse yet, their business’ whole system.  Let’s look at some tips that industry experts have offered to prevent these instances from occurring in the first place.

 

EXPERT TIPS & TRICKS

 

1.       Xavier Mertens, Freelance Cyber Security Consultant & Owner at Xameco recommends several tips and tricks. For one, he urges users to enable 2-factor authentication if offered by the service. Using a password manager can also help to declutter an old-school notebook for trying to remember all previous passwords and is innately more secure. Xavier also believes users should keep their devices and software as up-to-date as possible. This includes not just phones and computers, but also modems, smart TVs, and any access point that is routinely used. Lastly, Xavier believes that the end user should always ask the question: why? If something might sound too good to be true when a stranger offers something, it probably is. Don’t answer or offer information if you don’t understand the request or if you don’t even know the entity asking.

 

2.       Lee Munson, Senior Technical Writer at McAffee believes that the common practice of using the same password for every website and service is an “extremely risk behavior” which can be used by the attacker to have, in essence, “gained access to your entire digital world.” Lee further states that many individuals are too trusting and might click on a link found in an email even if they aren’t familiar with the sender. His advice is to not do this, ever. His last tip for cyber security is to be careful what you are downloading. Since so many downloads are freely available today, users often become a little nonchalant about where they are downloading resources from. Lee says to think twice about where you’re downloading from and to ensure that the website has a ‘padlock’ icon or a URL beginning with https://.

3.       Kelly Jackson Higgins, the Executive Editor at Dark Reading, strongly encourages all internet users to browse using a VPN connection, or a virtual private network. She believes that this is applicable whether you are using a corporate network, Wi-Fi Network, or a public wired network. Kelly indicates that even though many corporate employers use VPNs for their users, it’s helpful for individuals to use this outside of work as well, even on mobile devices. Kelly agrees with Xavier in that it’s important for users to keep all applications up-to-date with the latest patches and even goes further to say that it can be beneficial to use less-targeted browser option. Ms. Higgins believes that a final key to web security is the creation of a strong and complex password and remembering to change them often and to never reuse them.

CONCLUSION

 

These tips and tricks from industry experts might sound easy, but can just anyone learn how to become more cyber-secure? The answer is yes; not only is there plenty of advice on this topic found through legitimate sources, but there are also courses developed specifically for cyber security. For example, Clark State College offers six free Cyber Security courses offered to any individual interested in advancing their knowledge of cyber security without having to be a student. LinkedIn Learning also offers a free, 30-day trial for courses which include various Cyber Security topics including security & risk management, cloud computing, and the basic foundations of cyber security.

 

In one sense, you can view cyber security training and prowess as a benefit to yourself directly, gathering knowledge that will protect your devices and your own wellbeing. However, becoming fluent in cyber security will actually benefit you, your place of employment, your future, your past, and even help to bolster your resume within this digital age where using technology is not a step of the job but a requirement. There aren’t many good reasons to not be knowledgeable about cyber security in the year 2021. Use this month’s blog post as a reminder to update your applications, change your passwords, and do not open any suspicious links!

 

 

SOURCES:

Zaharia, A. (2021, May 25). 50+ internet security tips & tricks from top experts. Heimdal Security Blog. Retrieved September 28, 2021, from https://heimdalsecurity.com/blog/security-experts-roundup/.