CYBERSECURITY EDUCATION
There’s an adage that something is ‘not just for Christmas but for life.’ And a similar notion can be applied to educating yourself in appropriate cybersecurity practices. This month is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM) but what you learn about keeping your data safe and your IT network free from infiltration needs to be retained forever – not for 31 days. Remember that cybersecurity education should be a fundamental aspect of your employee training. As cybercriminals get smarter and develop more sophisticated hacking software, you need to stay ahead of the game. Applying robust cybersecurity education at home and work will ensure that you do just that.
WHERE DO I START?
Good question. There are some basics when it comes to cybersecurity education that is easy to adhere to. Remember that cybersecurity non-compliance is often the root cause of a hacking event, data loss, network downtime, or identity theft. Yes, it’s gullible and foolhardy humans that are usually to blame and that is why cybersecurity education is pivotal in the prevention of cybercrime. Here are some tips to give your cybersecurity education a kick start.
STRONG PASSWORDS
You’ve heard this before but strong passwords are one of the first lines of defence against hacking. You can use a password checker such as How Secure Is My Password to see how long it will take to hack a password. For example fido1234 will take 1 minutes to hack, fido1234$, and $fido1234$abc, 12,000 years. And use different passwords for different accounts. You don’t need to remember them – simply use a password manager like LastPass – it’s free.
2 FACTOR AUTENTICATION (2FA)
2FA gives you an additional layer of security to use with your strong and unique passwords. eCommerce sites such as Amazon use one-time passwords (OTPs) for 2FA and many banks will text you a code before you can login to your online account. You can enable 2FA on your mobile phone by installing free third-party apps like Google Authenticator or Microsoft Authenticator.
PHISHING EMAILS
Statistics show that 1 in every 101 emails are malicious. Cybercriminals often spread malware via attachments in phishing emails or redirect you to a dangerous site when you click on a link. Demonstrate your cybersecurity education by not opening these emails, clicking on any suspicious links or downloading anything. Check the sender’s email address, check spelling and grammar. Remember that if it looks real, it’s probably not!
USE ANTIMALWARE
This is pretty obvious but sometimes we all need a gentle reminder. Your data is incredibly vulnerable without up-to-date and continuously updated anti-virus and anti-malware. Most operating systems have built-in security such as Windows Defender and macOS Big Sur. If your critical data is highly sensitive, you could get additional protection using Malwarebytes or Comodo Antivirus.
ZHERO AND CYBERSECURITY EDUCATION
Your cybersecurity education should start with people who know their stuff. Zhero has more than 20 years of experience in professional business IT management, specializing in cybersecurity and risk mitigation. Are you looking for a solution for your cybersecurity education needs? Look no further. Contact Zhero today.
