What is Cybersecurity Awareness Month?
In October 2004, the Department of Homeland Security and the National Cyber Security Alliance initiated the first Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Cybersecurity Awareness Month was started to assist Americans in being careful and safe as the Internet was becoming crucial to our lives. This month is celebrated to enlighten our community on the significance of cybersecurity.
Read the below points to keep the most current cybersecurity tips fresh in your mind:
- Strong Authentication Tools
Strong authentication starts by using unique, tricky passwords for all devices. Pins should be different for individual devices. Biometric authentication like fingerprints or facial IDs can be used as additional authentication. Make your passwords or passphrases long, complex, and different. Never try to repeat the same password for all the accounts, make it unique.
- If you don’t think you’ll be able to keep all of them, use a password manager Application. That way, you’ll only have to memorize one master password and it will do the rest of the work.
- Keep Multi-Factor Authentication on all your accounts and devices. This will compel potential hackers to give another form of identification to get access to your accounts.
2. Keep Monitoring On Dark Web
If you notice that your email or username is found on the dark web that suggests cybercriminals are trying to break into your accounts. You should immediately change the passwords of all your accounts to avoid any mishappening. If you recognize something unchangeable, like personality or unidentifiable information, you should contact the concerned authorities.
3. Use a VPN (Virtual Private Network)
Always prefer to use VPN when you are using your devices in public or at all times. Cybercriminals have access to public wi-fi too and they can easily break into your devices and corrupt them with malware. Having a VPN on your device will keep it away from such threats.
4. Always Try SLAM Method
SLAM stands for Sender, Links, Attachments, and Message.
- SENDER-When you come across a doubtful email you should initially check the sender. Make sure the email address is valid and doesn’t have any spelling mistakes.
- LINK-Then always look over any links existing in the email to see if they are asking to take you to some other websites. Be cautious, and if the existing link is not related to the email id, do not click.
- ATTACHMENT- Do not open any attachment from an unknown email, whether it is in pdf, doc, or ppt format. These attachments can contain dangerous malware that can infect your device.
- MESSAGE- Lastly, check out the body of the email for any spelling errors or uncommon, urgent, threatening or suspicious messages. Always double-check with all the elements (SLAM) if anything feels wrong, you are likely to be poised.
5. Use an Encryption Service
An encryption service will assure you that your data is safe and secure. The encryption won’t permit cybercriminals to get access to your data by making the data unreadable to everyone. This method provides end-to-end security by successfully transmitting the data across authorized networks.
