Cyber security tips from our web & support team…

Posted 5 years ago

We sat down with some of our Web & Support team members to talk about their top cyber security tips for staying safe online. With most of our working lives & tools now online, it is important to know how to keep your password safe, your security settings up to date and report any suspicious activity to your technical support team.

The risks of poor cyber security awareness

Improving your cyber security knowledge and awareness is essential in this day and age. Poor cyber security awareness can have consequences across multiple areas of your life, as cybercriminals are becoming increasingly savvy.

Some of the main risks include:

Identity theft: Cybercriminals can gain access to all of your personal information, such as birth dates and addresses. This allows them to open bank accounts or take out loans in your name.

Malware attacks: Cybercriminals may send you a malicious link that installs malware on your computer, allowing them to track everything you do online and see any passwords you enter.

Loss of sensitive data: Cybercriminals can gain access to sensitive company or personal data, such as emails and financial records. This could cause you a lot of trouble if it falls into the wrong hands.

Reputation damage: Cybercriminals may attack a business website, taking down the website with Denial-of-Service (DoS) or Distributed-Denial-of-service (DDoS) cyberattacks and causing the company to lose lots of money.

So, what can you do to protect yourself? Our team is offering their top cyber security tips…

My best piece of advice would be to keep your social media privacy setting up to date so people don’t know when you’re on holiday or exactly where you live.

Treat your passwords like underwear. Keep them out of sight, change them frequently and don’t share them with anyone else.

My top cyber security tip is to be cautious when connecting to public Wifi. Be careful when entering your personal information online and use a VPN if you can.

My top cyber security tip would always be to report an email you think is suspicious even if you’re not too sure.

My top cyber security tip is to use a password manager where possible. I would also recommend using two-factor authentication on all of your accounts.

Some other useful cyber security tips include:

• Don’t leave devices unattended in public areas
• Make your passwords unique with upper/lower case letters, numbers & special characters – you wouldn’t believe how many people still use password123!!
• Keep software up to date
• Back up important documents/information
• Don’t think ‘it won’t happen to me’
• Install anti-virus protection
• Lock up your devices when you’re away
• Check if the site you’re using has ‘https://’
• Learn how to recognise spam/suspicious emails

Cyber Security Training

Unfortunately, approximately 32% of businesses and 22% of charities have reported cyber security breaches or attacks in the last 12 months.

In our Cyber Security Training, we cover an overview of cyber security, what you can do to prevent breaches from happening and what to do before a breach happens, what to do if it happens and recovery plans.

If you would like to help your organisation become more aware of cyber security threats and know what to do should one happen, then get started with your free trial today!

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