By: Mike Rickard Going online can be a fun and helpful experience whether it’s connecting with loved ones, shopping or handling business transactions. However, there are criminals looking to steal your personal information and with it, access your finances. Cybercrime can happen to anyone, but the...
By: Mike Rickard
Going online can be a fun and helpful experience whether it’s connecting with loved ones, shopping or handling business transactions. However, there are criminals looking to steal your personal information and with it, access your finances. Cybercrime can happen to anyone, but there are a number of steps you can take to protect yourself and reduce the risks of being victimized.
The news is full of stories about cybersecurity breaches as people’s social security numbers and other personal data is stolen, sometimes leading to disastrous financial consequences.
There’s no doubt the situation is bad. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation:
The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) 2018 Internet Crime Report includes information from 351,936 complaints of suspected Internet crime, with reported losses in excess of $2.7 billion. The top three crime types reported by victims in 2018 were non-payment/non-delivery, extortion, and personal data breach.
However, according to another figure, only 10% of cybercrime is reported, so the actual harm may be far more than we know.
Protecting yourself from cybercrime is the same as any other crime—risk reduction. The more difficult you make it for criminals, the less likely it is they will try to steal your information. A burglar is more likely to burglarize a home with no locks than they are a home with locks, security lighting, and a dog (or attack cat). If you make your computer more difficult to access, cyber-criminals are less likely to bother with you. You don’t have to be a computer wizard to implement security precautions and you may already have some of these in place. Adding further barriers only protects you further.
One option (albeit an unrealistic one) is to completely avoid the Internet, whether it’s using email, accessing websites, or making online transactions. However, even this is no guarantee as your data can be breached when you use an ATM, swipe a debit card at the gas pump or your favorite store. The option of paying with cash is possible, but it’s a poor choice if you want to build up your credit. Other than living off the grid, what are your options?
The first step is to understand anyone can be hacked. Don’t think your income is too small or you don’t use the Internet enough to be safe. There are a number of methods of hacking and everyone is at risk. What might seem like worthless information to you could be valuable to hackers and help them break into bigger targets. Thus, it’s important to protect yourself.
1. Passwords: Passwords are the online equivalent of your home’s lock. The better the lock, the more secure your data is. Passwords should not only be long, but contain a variety of characters including letters, numbers, and symbols such as “#.” You also should mix up uppercase and lowercase letters. You’ve probably heard this but in case you haven’t, don’t use easy to remember passwords such as birthdays or phone numbers. Avoid using sequences too like the dreaded “1,2,3,4” password or something similar. Don’t share passwords with anyone and avoid using the same password for different accounts. This can be frustrating but if someone hacks one account, it’s likely they’ll hack another account. You don’t want someone gaining your social media password if it’s the same one as your financial password.
2. Consider a VPN (virtual private network): A VPN has a number of uses, but for cybersecurity, it hides your browsing activity and provides more privacy when you go online.
3. Avoid public wi-fi: Public wi-fi is convenient but it’s notoriously weak when it comes to security. If you use public wi-fi, you should maximize your security including antivirus software and VPN’s.
4. Protect your physical data including USB: A USB device can be infected whenever you put it into another device. Also, put a password on your computer so no one can access it should they come across it.
5. Don’t post too much information online social media: Sharing too much information on social media is asking for trouble. For example, if you post your birthday online, that’s one less item an identity thief needs from you.
6. Protect your phone just as much as you do your computer: Smart phones are basically mini-computers, able to do many of the same things as computers. That’s why you should install anti-virus software, avoid public wi-fi, and use a VPN.
7. Get a good antivirus program: Viruses are everywhere ranging from email to websites.
8. Update your software: Always keep your software up to date whether it’s web browsers or antivirus software. Hackers are always finding vulnerabilities in software which is why software is updated.
9. Backup your data: Always backup your computer’s data in the event your system crashes or it’s hacked.
10. Don’t open attachments, even from people you know. While many unknown messages are sent to spam filters, you may occasionally get a message from an unknown person with an attachment. Don’t open it and send it to your spam filter. A little paranoia goes a long way when it comes to cybersecurity which means checking with friends if you’re uncertain the attachment is really from them (hackers will steal email addresses to make you believe you’re receiving mail from a trusted source). This is known as phishing and one security site describes it as:
Phishing attacks typically rely on social networking techniques applied to email or other electronic communication methods, including direct messages sent over social networks, SMS text messages and other instant messaging modes.
11. Protect your wireless system. If you’re using a wireless router, make sure you have the latest software for it. Check with your Internet service provider if you have questions.
These tips are just for starters. For more details, check out some of the following sites.
https://heimdalsecurity.com/blog/cyber-security-tips/
https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/tips
https://www.public.navy.mil/fcc-c10f/Pages/Top-10-Cybersecurity-Tips.aspx
https://www.sba.gov/managing-business/cybersecurity/top-ten-cybersecurity-tips