By Emily Raunig

 

This month marks the 19th year of Cybersecurity Awareness Month. The increase of stay-at-home workers makes awareness even more vital. In 2020, according to Harvard Business Review, companies’ hackers grew by 300%. In 2021, we saw Colonial Pipeline breached, negatively impacting gas supplies along the East Coast. These cyber breaches from one device can impact a whole community.

 

More people are working from home on their devices. If you are one of them, you should keep yourself cyber safe and take the proper precautions to protect yourself from identity theft, scams and more.

 

Here are five quick tips on how to practice cyber security:

 

Update your devices regularly

Updating your device’s software often is essential because it will help your cybersecurity. Updates will sometimes fix loopholes in your software that allow hackers to reach you more easily.

 

Create a good password

It’s easy to stick with the same password you’ve had for years, but it increases your chances of your accounts getting hacked. A good password consists of long words, lower-case and upper-case letters and different numbers and symbols.

 

Spot phishing

According to National Cybersecurity Alliance, cybercriminals often “phish” your private information. To spot phishing, look out for unexpected or odd messages emailed or texted to you. Many hackers that phish your information can make it seem like they are an honest company, such as Netflix. Don’t click on any links they send you, and contact the actual company from their website.

 

Keep up with new scams

Scamming is something that is constantly changing. Don’t click on a link because you believe it couldn’t be a scam. Scammers are always coming up with new ways to get your personal information. So, keep up with the news about scammers getting people’s personal information.

 

Back up your devices regularly

Make sure to back up every document that you need in the future. Whether it be in iCloud or a separate hard drive, make sure to do it regularly. Avoid a scammer breaching your computer and wiping out your data altogether.

 

To help protect your company further from cyber fraud, contact TrustPoint Insurance & Real Estate to review the best insurance options for you.