How can you avoid cyber threats and protect your data? Is your password secure enough? Are you safe from phishing, social engineering, and malware?
There are a few easy steps to follow to protect your personal and professional sensitive information. We have developed an infographic with the top 10 security tips to help you protect your data and prevent cyberattacks.
Make sure you have strong passwords that contain a minimum of eight characters that are a combination of numbers, upper and lower case letters and special characters. A very long password is better. It should not be a word from the dictionary. To make it easier to remember, compose a password by using the first letter of each word of a memorable sentence (a so-called “passphrase”).
For optimal password security, make sure to change your passwords on a regular basis and keep them secret. Do not share your passwords with anyone or worse even, do not keep your passwords written down next to your desk.
For Windows users, a fast way to do this is to simultaneously press THE WINDOWS KEY + L.
Always make sure that there are no confidential or valuable assets in plain sight on your desk or workstation. Anything confidential must be adequately secured.
One of the most effective security tips is to conduct regular back ups of your sensitive data and save your documents into the company network. Do not reply solely on your drive and do not back up confidential information on CDs, DVDs or USB flash drives, as there are easily lost, damaged or fall into the wrong hands.
Ask your company’s IT or security team what the appropriate means are to encrypt your confidential emails and files. Encryption translates data into a secret code, making the content of the message or file illegible by anyone unauthorized to read it. Remember that emails are not encrypted by default.
The art of manipulating people to obtain confidential information is called social engineering. Be wary of unsolicited requests for confidential information and always verify the requestor’s identity.
Banks do not call their customers or send email messages asking for confidential information, such as account numbers, passwords, personal identification numbers (PINs), social security numbers etc.
Do not provide passwords or sensitive information when you respond to an unsolicited call, even if you recognize the displayed phone number. Phone numbers can easily be spoofed.
Do not click on any links or files included in suspicious email messages.
Only provide confidential information when you call your bank official customer service number or when you access the official website.
Emails from unknown senders, non-business related.
Emails that seem to come from your bank asking for account information.
Emails from anyone with attachments that you don’t expect. Double check the sender and the purpose before opening any attachments.
If, by mistake, you clicked on a link or a file, do not delete the email and notify your security department immediately.
Make sure you are aware of your company’s security policies and periodically check for updates to make sure that you’re staying on top of the latest trends and best practices.
When security incidents, security policy violations or suspected violations occur, always make it your best practice to report your observations to the information security department. Ideally, organizations should adopt a 24/7 monitoring and incident response management practice to ensure that confidential data is protected around the clock and security incidents are mitigated promptly and effectively.
[Infographic] Don't Be a Victim of Targeted Email Attacks!
I’ve been a geek since before I could walk. I remember loading video games on cassette tapes with my Commodore 64. I remember downloading games too, back when geeks programmed them for fun and gave them away for free on Bulletin Boards. I literally live on the internet: I’m an inveterate gamer, an electronic music producer and I’ve put in time in the video games industry in a variety of positions before finding my way to cyber security and ethical hacking, where I expect to spend the rest of my career. I’m passionate about coding, copyright, privacy, human rights and the intersection of these things. I am the Security Evangelist at Hitachi Systems Security.In my spare time I study languages (particularly Middle English and Russian these days) and I cook traditional Japanese food.