Our Staple Security Measures

In today’s world we use technology for almost every aspect of both our professional and personal lives, so it’s important to know how to stay safe. We lock our door to protect our home, but what security measures are we putting in place to protect against cyber threats? We’re breaking down all the basics you need to know about staying safe online…Â

Who is at risk?

The first step towards a secure digital presence is understanding the nature of cyber threats. Cybercrime can happen to anyone, and there are many ways cybercriminals are threatening us including phishing, malware, and ransomware to gain access to our personal and sensitive information.Â

strong passwords and 2FA

Passwords are the first line of defense for keeping your account safe, you wouldn’t go out without locking your front door, so don’t leave your device wide open for criminals to get inside. Having different passwords for different accounts is a good place to start and they should all contain numbers, upper and lowercase letters, as well as special symbols, and remember to avoid using numbers or words that are directly obvious to you as these could be easier to guess.Â

Two-factor authentication is also a great online tool you can set up to make sure you are always aware of when your account is being logged into, if you haven’t tried to log in and you receive a notification, you know it’s time to reset your password to something longer and stronger!Â

The great thing about two-factor authentication is you can set it up to alert your mobile phone instead of your email address, so it’s extra secure.Â

Keeping Software and Devices Up to Date

Most people put off updating their devices and software for ‘another time’ but how many times do we press the ‘not now’ button? probably quite a lot! Although it may seem unnecessary to keep up with updates, they all usually contain helpful security measures, the more updated you keep, the more secure your device will be.Â

Being in the know

Being in the know will always help you when it comes to cyber security and what the latest technologies are out there to help keep you safe.Â

Be cautious when clicking on links or downloading or opening attachments from emails, and remember to always preview links before clicking them. Companies like Knowbe4 offer online training and even test emails randomly to see how vigilant you are.Â

Having a back up plan

Data loss can be devastating, especially to a business, and whether due to a cyber attack or hardware, it can still have a big impact. Regularly backing up your data to cloud storage gives you peace of mind that your data is never really lost, and even if it is during a cyber attack, it’s easily recoverable.Â

It’s not always the Ransome that is the biggest expense during a ransomware attack but the downtime to a business and the amount of time trying to recover the lost data, so for businesses in particular this should be a non-negotiable.Â