Today, we live in an age where cyber security is crucial. Cyber attacks are rampant and it has got to the point where these malicious crimes have become the norm. In the last month alone we have suffered several global cyber attacks. In May, millions of users across the globe were caught off guard by a massive ransom-ware that targeted 94 countries. Small and large companies, including healthcare hospitals and telecom companies, were all affected. The ransom-ware, called WannaCry, encrypted each and every file and folder on a computer, making them completely inaccessible to the user. To regain access to them, WannaCry hackers demanded a total of $300 in Bitcoins from their victims.
Then there was the recent hacking of DocuSign, one of the most common digital signature services in the world, whose database of client emails was compromised and taken advantage in a phishing attack. The cyber campaign had Word documents as attachments and utilized social engineering to bait people into enabling the Word’s macro feature which will download and install malware on the user’s computer.
The question on everyone’s lips is: “How do I protect myself from cyber attacks?”
Here are some of the things that you can do to protect yourself from potentially harmful cyber attacks and keep your private information protected:
1. Never use one single password for all your accounts and avoid saving your password information on your computer or smartphone.
2. Boost up your computer’s security by activating your firewall, using Anti-Virus/Anti-Malware software and avoiding the installation of ‘cracked’ software at all times.
3. Only upload your personal data to file sharing services like Dropbox and Google drive when it is encrypted. You can use online software to encrypt your files.
4. Double check your social media security settings to see if they are protecting your personal information. Your social networking profiles (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, google+ etc.) should always be set to private.
5. Always make sure that necessary installations in your operating system, especially security installations, are up to date.
6. Be wary when using Wi-Fi. Your Wi-Fi’s password should be secured with WPA2 encryption and never use public Wi-Wifis if you are making business or financial transactions.
7. Encrypt all important data on your computer especially those pertaining to your tax returns and business or financial records.
8. Keep in mind that your mobile devices are extremely vulnerable to cyber attacks and viruses so make sure that you keep them physically and digitally protected.
9. Be wary in sharing or handing out your personal information such as your name, number, address or financial information on the internet.
10. Never save your credit card details on any website.
To learn more about cybercrimes, you are invited to visit our CyberCrime webpage here.
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