National Cyber Security Awareness Month 2020
National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM) has been raising awareness about the importance of cybersecurity across the U.S. for 17 years now, and is dedicated to ensuring that all Americans have the resources they need to be safer and more secure online.
“Do Your Part. #BeCyberSmart.” has been selected as this year's topic. Most of us have a limited, working knowledge of cyber security best practices. Unfortunately, this also makes us a prime target for an attack. We will illustrate a few things that can be done to harden your cyber world so you can protect yourself and your valuable information.
Password Management
First up on the list of cyber security techniques, and most important in data and account protection; Password Management. How many of you use the same password or the same variation of passwords? Whether or not you rotate these passwords every 90 days, it is important to use different passwords for each account you have. To prevent password hack attacks you want to follow some simple guidelines:
If at all possible, use a random password that does not have anything to do with your everyday life and cannot be easily guessed by an attacker.
Every password should be at least 8 characters long, but ideally, shoot for 12 characters.
Include upper/lower case letters, numbers, AND special characters.
Use a long passphrase. They are easier for you to remember, but more difficult for the bad guys to guess.
While these strong passwords do better at keeping hackers out of your accounts, they are also more tricky to remember. Try using a password manager such as LastPass. LastPass manages all your passwords in one location, autofills on sites with the Chrome Plugin, and can even help create stronger passwords.
Preventing Social Engineering Attacks
Social Engineering is where hackers use deception to get an individual to break their standard security practices. How, you ask? PHISHING! These attacks target a person's familiarity with names of common accounts like Chase Bank, PayPal, and Amazon. Please, please take the following advice: NEVER click a link inside of an email! When in doubt, go DIRECTLY to the account site in question or make a phone call to verify. With social engineering attacks on the rise, most, if not all, banking institutions will not send you an email and ask you to update your account information directly from an email.
Securing Your Home Network
Most users are somewhat safe if they connect to the internet via their router, but you need to secure your WiFi network. Routers are designed to repel external internet traffic that is attempting to access your internal network. Any request from a device that is not on your network will automatically be denied. If you’re unsure whether you have a WiFi router, contact your internet service provider ASAP! If you have not changed the password to your router from what the default password is, DO IT NOW. There is software available for hackers that allow them to hack into your WiFi network and wreak all types of havoc. Once an attacker is in your network, there’s no limit to what they can get into.
Don’t Share Too Much
Lastly, limit what you share with your social media circle. While it’s fun to post photos of you enjoying a coffee from your favorite coffee shop wearing your favorite college sweatshirt, or that you just purchased tickets to your dream vacation and will be gone from November 1st through the 10th, keep in mind that attackers will use this information to gain access to your life. I think it’s safe to say that safety begins with what we decide needs safekeeping.
Until next time, Good Luck and Be Safe!
