Be Cyber Smart

As our lives have become increasingly dependent on technology, our personal data is entrusted to a variety of platforms and services. Since we are still in the “wild west” days of the internet, there are very little rules and regulations for how your data is managed.

Now more than ever, it has become vital to take steps to protect personal online belongings like documents, photos, and credit cards.

Best practices like creating strong passwords, using multifactor authentication, and backing up your data are all great ways to keep your digital health in tip-top shape!

Passwords

With so many everyday services becoming online based, an account is needed for everything, from changing a mailing address to ordering ice cream.

A common pitfall that people fall into is re-using the same password across multiple accounts because it’s easy to remember. This can be detrimental because it gives an attacker an easier time cracking your password, and grants access to all of your accounts if they are successful.

One way this can be avoided is by using a password manager such as LastPass or Bitwarden. The way these programs typically work is by using a master password to gain access to the rest of your passwords. Many are available on your smartphone, as well as in the form of a browser extension.

These password managers provide a nice layer of security between you and the forces of cyber-evil.

Encryption

The first line of defense provided is encryption or encoding the passwords into unrecognizable cipher text. Most password managers use the industry standard AES 256-bit encryption, which is also utilized by the military because of its exceptional protection strength.

Just for reference, it would take the fastest computer on Earth longer than the age of the universe to crack the code just by guessing at every combination.

Password Generation

Another great feature baked into most password managers is password generation. With this feature, you can easily create a unique, strong password with just a few clicks! The password will then be stored within your manager for easy access (as long as you have the master password). Both Bitwarden and LastPass add options to the right click menu which provides easy access to this function.

Multifactor Authentication

The next technique that can be employed to protect your online treasure trove is to require online services to use more than one way to identify you.

This process is commonly referred to as multifactor authentication (MFA). There are several forms of MFA, such as entering a code provided via email/SMS or using a mobile application that generates an access code every 30 seconds.

The point of MFA is to make it harder for bad actors to log into one of your online accounts and wreak havoc. Without MFA, all they’d need to do is guess your password.

Locking things down with MFA would require bad guys to not only guess your password, but also gain access to your email account or physical device as well.

Backing Up Your Data

An extremely important preventative measure is ensuring your files are backed up. Imagine having 10 years of photos on your phone and accidentally dropping that phone into the ocean, all those photos would be lost!

A common practice is to use cloud services to ensure your data will not die with the device it lives on. A cloud can best be described as another computer where the files you upload are stored. This computer is secured, maintained, and protected against disaster by the cloud provider (Microsoft, Google, etc.) and can be accessed from any device of your choosing by simply logging in with your username and password.  

Wrapping Up

Although there are many ways you can protect yourself online, these simple tips should be enough to get you started.

Password managers are a great way to create unique, strong passwords while providing secure and easy access to them.

Multi-factor authentication is typically available for most services, and easy to set up. Many websites and applications even require it!

Cloud services are vital in today’s world to ensure your data can be accessed across all of your devices and is protected against disaster. Employing these practices will help keep your accounts and data safe from unnecessary security breaches.

We Take Cybersecurity Seriously

We at Intelligent CloudCare take cybersecurity seriously as we seek to educate and empower small businesses all over the globe. We understand how important it is to protect your data, secure it with backup strategies, and make it virtually impossible to be breached by cyber villains.

During Cybersecurity Awareness Month, we're offering a cybersecurity assessment for your business' infrastructure.

We want to ensure you have a cyber-safe environment today so we can avert any cyber-attacks of tomorrow.

‍Contact us below for your assessment at no cost to you.