How To Practice Safe Online Habits And Make Cybersecurity A Priority

12/20/2023

All it takes is one click for your cyber security to spiral out of control. It’s evident through an uptick in SPAM, data breaches, and phishing attacks that there is no better time than now to keep Cybersecurity at the front of mind.

On top of that, it’s October which means it’s National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Held every October, the National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM) is put on by Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the National Cybersecurity Alliance (NCSA). The goal of Cybersecurity Awareness Month is to create awareness across organizations and individuals and promote cyber security best practices.

This month-long awareness event is for everyone from corporations and organizations to individuals. Cybersecurity affects everyone who accesses the internet and promoting awareness and best practices has benefits to us all.

Every year there is also a theme for the month, with this year’s theme being “See Yourself in Cyber”. When thinking about this year’s theme, try and see yourself in cyber both from the aspect of your business but also personal lives. Friends and family can be impacted by malicious ransomware and phishing attempts. You don’t have to be part of a large company to be targeted. Anyone can fall victim to these attacks, which makes it important to always practice safe online habits.

Common types of cyber-attacks to be aware of:

Phishing attempts
Links coming from unknown senders and people outside of your organization / network
Malware and Ransomware attempts
Risks associated with accessing unsecured Wi-Fi and public networks

Things you can do to prevent these attacks from happening:

Update your software regularly and turn on auto-updates for software
Use a password manager to securely store all your passwords
Create unique passwords for all online accounts and do not re-use passwords
Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) on all your online accounts
Hover over links included in emails to preview and verify the URL prior to clicking
Be cautious and think twice about emails rushing you to act. If unsure of a message, it is always best to check directly with the source/sender

The take-away from all of this is to continue to keep up on your cybersecurity education and share your knowledge with others. It only takes a single click for a situation to escalate out of control. In an ever-changing online environment, staying one step ahead of cybercriminals must be an ongoing practice.

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