Why You Should Start Thinking About Cyber Security

Contact us

Cyber security illustration

Some people may think that Cyber Security is not something they need to think about.

There are many reasons an individual or business may brush off cyber security measures:

  • They believe their business is not big enough to be a target
  • They may feel insignificant, asking "why would they target me?"
  • They may believe these measures come built in to the software they use
  • Or they have never been hacked before, so question why they should bother introducing security measures.
So why should you put some Cyber Security measures in place?

A UK Gov Cyber Security Breaches Survey finds that in the last 12 months 39% of businesses in the UK identified some kind of Cyber Attack. An even more worrying finding is that 31% of businesses and 26% of charities estimate they were attacked at least once a week, and that 1 in 5 said they experienced negative outcomes as a direct consequence of the attacks, including loss of revenue and data. 

The main goal of cyber security measures is to protect the devices we use like smartphones, tablets and computers, our data- both personal and at work- and our personal information. 

Technology like Smartphones, Laptops and Tablets are a fundamental part of our daily lives so we need to be sure they are kept safe from any sort of breach or attack. We have all sorts of information on our devices, like online banking, social media, shopping apps, personal data and our emails, so we need to be sure to protect this information the best we can.

How Can we Begin to Protect Ourselves Against Cyber Threats?

According to a new report by Tessian, 30% of employees do not think they play a role in maintaining their companies cyber security measures. Do they?

On the 18th of September 2022, a Rockstar Games employee's Slack (A messaging app for the workplace, similar to Teams) account got hacked. This account had been used to share sensetive information like log ins and footage, so the hacker gained access to even more private data. This hacker went through any chat logs and collected up to 100 videos, totalling over 50 minutes for footage of the unreleased, much anticipated game, GTA 6. 

The unauthorised release of the material has been described as “one of the biggest leaks in video game history” by Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier. Schreier also claims that this may cause rockstar to tighten their Work-from-home flexibility, showing just how important Cyber Security Guidelines are, and how it is just as important for them to be followed at home as well as in the office. 

No matter the size of your company, you are susceptible to data breaches.

At a similar time to Rockstar Games' leak, Twitter also suffered a data breech. A hacker has used a vulnerability to build a database of phone numbers and corresponding email addresses belonging to almost 5 and a half million accounts, including those of celebrities, politicians, companies and just normal people, and has now put this data up for sale for $30,000. Not much earlier than this, another hacker obtained account data from over 533 million users Facebook. During Facebooks 2021 Data Breach, passwords were also released, meaning anyone using the same password over multiple different accounts became vulnerable. 

This, of course, seems very scary. There are some quick and easy things that you can do to avoid being victim to one of these attacks:
 

  • Always use a strong password
    Avoid using personal details like Birthdays, Pets or Children's Names in passwords, some hackers have become proficient at social engineering, they will gather information about you and try to construct a password, and often succeed. See WJPS Guide to a Strong Password
     
  • Use your Mobile Device Securely
    Create a unique passcode, avoid using your birthdate or bank pin number. Remember to only download apps from trusted sources like the app store, enable things like Find my Iphone and Android Device Manager to prevent loss, and be sure to keep the device updated.
     
  • Protect Your Personal Identifiable Information
    Personal Identifiable Information is any information that can be used by a Cyber Criminal to identify or locate you. This includees Names, Addresses, Phone Numbers, Birthdays, IP Addresses, Location Details or any other data. This is often used to try to break into your accounts. Changing settings on social media like Facebook and Instagram to private helps to keep your Personal Identifiable Information safe.
     
  • Use a Password Manager
    It can be very difficult remembering all of your different passwords, so password managers were created to help you store your passwords in a secure way so you no longer have to repeat passwords! Some password managers will also generate strong passwords for you! There are a range of paid and free password managers out there.
     
  • Always Back Up your Data
    If your account does get hacked, with backups you do not have to worry about the issues caused by this, as you will not have as much to loose! Often a hacker will hold your device hostage until you pay, but with backed up data you wont need to worry about the content held hostage!
  • Use 2-Step Verification
    2-Step Verification can add an extra layer of security to your accounts. Often, if 2-Step Verification or 2-Factor Authentication are enabled, you will log in as usual, but then may be sent a code through text or email to enter, to prove that it is you attempting to log in.
     
  • Do not repeat the same passwords on multiple different accounts
    If one gets leaked, you will not have to worry about the others! Many people create a main password that they then create variations of.
     
  • Keep Apps Up to Date

    Be sure to Update and Instal the Latest Software and App Updates, these updates are often created to patch vulnerabilities in apps or software, so avoiding the update can leave you vulnerable to data breaches.
     

  • Use an Anti-Virus Protection & Firewall

    Anti Virus software is created to block malicious attacks. Some recommended and trusted Anti Virus Software include Norton, Bitdefender, Trend Micro and Avast.
     

  • Know the Risks and How to Avoid Them
    Knowing what to look out for is imperative for avoiding online scams. This goes for scam emails, emails from hacked accounts, and even links sent over social media. Some messages look to be from your friends, but are not, their account has been infected by a malicious link that is then sent on to their friends, to gain their information too! Bottom line- if it seems off, it probably is! See Know the Risks and How To Avoid Them

     

Published: 28/10/2022 Published by: WJPS

Return to News Page.