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With data crime on the rise, protecting your digital presence is more vital than ever.
Have you ever received that dreaded text asking you to verify a charge on your credit card? The realization sets in—someone has your information. It is a terrifying and violating feeling that is unfortunately becoming far too commonplace. Data breaches continue to rise as internet vagabonds get increasingly more sophisticated at breaking through cyber defenses. Some attacks aim at your finances, while others target personal information or company data. With cyber-crime on the rise, protecting your digital presence is more vital than ever. It is recommended that you develop a plan to make your life more resistant to a digital attack.
The most typical attacks cyber criminals employ in data breaches are Phishing, Ransomware and password compromise. Here are three easy tips to get started building a hack-resistant life.
Training, Awareness, and Practice
There’s no better way to improve your anti-breach skills than good old-fashioned practice. This includes phishing tests from companies like KnowBe4, training on spotting suspicious emails and links and more. As annoying as these training phishing campaigns may be when they arrive in your inbox, they serve as a protected area to build awareness of what a live phishing attack may look like and how to prevent the next big data breach.
Strong Passwords
A weak password could mean that all your hard work learning about and identifying cyber attacks goes to waste. Strong passwords are built on several building blocks:
- Length
- Complexity
- Uniqueness
To gauge the strength of your password policy, check out the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s password guidelines here. If you have questions or concerns, consult your friendly neighborhood IT person, and they can assist you in ensuring your password is up to snuff.
Awareness
Data breaches often occur due to a simple lack of vigilance. It is important to be aware of just how prevalent and relentless cyber-criminals can be. A data breach in 2020 hit home for an astounding $3.86 million on average in the United States. Some mega-breaches have been recorded to cost hundreds of millions of dollars. And costs are on the rise. In 2022 the average increased to $4.35 million. This average is calculated from a total of 817 cases last year. Long story short— the cost of breaches is too dang high.
The good news is—if you can dodge a phishing email, you can dodge a data breach! Avoid those dreaded notifications from the bank, practice prevention and side-step cyber-attacks.
