Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is a Shared Responsibility

October 2020 marks the 17th year of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. The purpose of Cybersecurity Awareness Month is to promote security best practices that everyone can use to stay safer and more secure online. 

This year’s theme is ‘Do Your Part. Be Cyber Smart’, helping to empower individuals and organizations to own their role in protecting their part of cyberspace.

Own - Secure - Protect IT: The Basic Steps to Online Safety and Security

Whether you are online banking, shopping, social networking, or downloading the latest app, practicing good cybersecurity in today’s interconnected world is critical. Everyone must learn to stay safe and more secure in their ever-expanding digital lives. Therefore, in support of cybersecurity month, we would like to offer a few quick tips to help you stay safe online.

• Keep security software current: Having the latest security software, web browser and operating system is the best defense against viruses, malware and other online threats.
• Automate software updates: Many software programs will automatically connect and update to defend against known risks. Turn on automatic updates if that’s an available option.
• Protect all devices that connect to the Internet: Along with computers, smartphones, gaming systems and other web-enabled devices also need protection from viruses and malware.
• Plug & scan: USBs and other external devices can be infected by viruses and malware. Use your security software to scan them.
• Make your password a sentence: A strong password is a sentence that is at least 12 characters long. Focus on positive sentences or phrases that you like to think about and are easy to remember (for example, “I love country music.”). On many sites, you can even use spaces!

Be mindful of what you do online. Keep yourself safe and apply these practices to your daily online activities to help protect yourself against cybercrime.

Cybersecurity Tips to Secure Your Devices

• Configure your privacy and security settings
  The moment you turn on a new “smart device, configure its privacy and security settings.  Most devices default to the least secure settings; so take a moment to configure those settings to your comfort level.  Disable any features you don’t need.
• Change default username and passwords
  Many Internet of Things (IoT) devices come with default passwords.  Create long and unique passphrases for all accounts and use multi-factor authentication (MFA) wherever possible.  MFA will fortify your online accounts by enabling the strongest authentication tools available, such as biometrics or a unique one-time code sent to your phone or mobile device.
• Keep software on your devices updated
  When the manufacturer issues a software update, patch it immediately.  Updates include important changes that improve the performance and security of your devices.

Following these tips minimizes the risks of your devices getting compromised.  It helps our communities to stay better protected against cyber threats as well.

Every employee has a role to play in cybersecurity and a responsibility for creating a culture that can help everyone protect themselves against cybercrime. For more information, visit National Cyber Security Alliance website.