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CYBERSECURITY AWARENESS COURSES
Cyberstealth
CYBERSECURITY AWARENESS TRAINING
WHEN YOU STEP INTO YOUR OFFICE OR CUBICLE AND SIT DOWN TO WORK AT A COMPANY-OWNED COMPUTER, YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE TO WORRY MUCH ABOUT SECURITY. THAT’S WHAT THE IT DEPARTMENT IS FOR, RIGHT? BUT THESE DAYS THINGS ARE NOT SO SIMPLE. IF YOU’RE ONE OF THE VAST NUMBERS OF PEOPLE WHO’VE SUDDENLY FOUND THEMSELVES WORKING FROM HOME, YOU’RE RESPONSIBLE FOR DOING SO SECURELY.
DON’T WORRY. THERE ARE PLENTY OF THINGS YOU CAN DO TO UPGRADE YOUR WORK-FROM-HOME SECURITY, AND MANY ARE SIMPLE TO IMPLEMENT. FOLLOW THE TIPS BELOW TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU’RE NOT THE ONE WHO ACCIDENTALLY EXPOSES ALL THE HR RECORDS OR LEAKS SECRET COMPANY PLANS TO A COMPETITOR.
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1: USE ANTI-VIRUS: WHAT TYPE OF ANTIVIRUS DO YOU HAVE? IS IT SUITABLE FOR THE COMPANY? BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, AN ANTIVIRUS PROGRAM NEEDS TO REGULARLY UPDATE. CHECK THAT YOU HAVE YOURS SET UP TO AUTOMATICALLY UPDATE; THE UPDATES ARE USUALLY PATCHES TO THE LATEST THREATS THAT ARE OUT THERE SO IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO PROTECT YOURSELF AGAINST THESE.
2: MAKE SURE YOUR SYSTEM & PROGRAMS ARE UP TO DATE: ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE USING WINDOWS, BUT THIS APPLIES TO ALL SYSTEMS. WHEN YOU GET THESE POP-UPS IT'S NEVER AT A CONVENIENT TIME, BUT JUST TAKE TWO MINUTES TO SCHEDULE THESE; MAYBE YOU HAVE A SET TIME TO MAKE DINNER? OR YOU'RE GOING FOR A RUN? BUT MAKE THESE CHANGES. AGAIN, THESE ARE PATCHES A LOT OF THE TIME SO THEY ARE DOING IT TO PROTECT YOU!
3: PAY ATTENTION TO WIFI AND NETWORK SECURITY: IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY, CHANGE THE PASSWORD ON YOUR ROUTER, CLICK HERE FOR A GUIDE ON HOW TO DO THIS. AS THE USERNAME I FIND SOMETHING LIKE ‘POLICE SCANNER’ OR ‘I'M WATCHING YOU’ TEND TO WORK.
4: SECURE YOUR PRIVACY WITH A VPN ( VIRTUAL PRIVATE NETWORK): AT PRESENT, MANY WORKERS HAVE BEEN TOSSED WILLY-NILLY INTO THE WORK-FROM-HOME WORLD BY COMPANIES THAT DON’T HAVE ANYTHING LIKE A CORPORATE VPN. YOU CAN STILL PROTECT YOUR INTERNET TRAFFIC, BOTH WORK AND PERSONAL, BY ENGAGING THE SERVICES OF A THIRD-PARTY VPN. A LOT ARE FREE SO THERE REALLY IS NO EXCUSE! OBVIOUSLY, THE PAID ONES GIVE YOUR MORE SECURITY SO HAVE A LOOK AROUND FOR THE ONE THAT SUITS YOUR NEEDS.
click here for a FREE guide.
5: AVOID OVER SHARING YOUR SCREEN: SOME PEOPLE ARE LUCKY ENOUGH TO HAVE A DEDICATED HOME OFFICE, BUT FOR MOST, WORK HAPPENS WHEREVER YOU CAN CLEAR SPACE. WHEN YOU LEAVE YOUR COMPUTER TO MAKE A SNACK OR TAKE A BREAK, ALWAYS HIT THE WINDOWS+L KEY COMBINATION TO LOCK IT. SURE, YOU TRUST YOUR FAMILY, BUT KIDS (AND THEIR FRIENDS) CAN BE CURIOUS, OR MISCHIEVOUS. ON A MODERN MAC, COMMAND+CONTROL+Q DOES THE JOB. LAPTOP? JUST CLOSE THE LID!
6: BEWARE OF THE LATEST PHISHING SCAMS: GONE ARE THE DAYS OF SOME DODGY EMAIL STATING THAT THEY ARE A PRINCE AND THEY NEED YOUR HELP TO GET £MILLION OUT OF THE COUNTRY. TODAY THE LATEST SCAMS ARE PERTAINING TO THE NHS (ABOUT COVID-19), HMRC, AND AMAZON. CHECK WHERE THE EMAIL CAME FROM. IT WILL BE CLOSE TO THE ORIGINAL BUT THERE IS ALWAYS SOMETHING THERE THAT'S A LITTLE DIFFERENT.
HOVER YOUR MOUSE OVER ANY LINKS BEFORE YOU CLICK THEM, THIS WILL SHOW YOU THE FULL LINK ADDRESS.
7: LOOK AT YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA, ARE YOU OVERSHARING? YOU MAY HAVE PHOTOS OF THE KIDS OR THE FAMILY PET WHICH HAPPENS TO BE ONE OF YOUR PASSWORDS, EASY PICKINGS FOR A HACKER! FIRSTLY WE ADVISE SETTING UP TWO-FACTOR AUTHENTICATION FOR YOUR PASSWORD, IT'S THERE FOR A REASON. BE CAUTIOUS ABOUT CLICKING ON ANY LINKS, AS HACKERS WILL OFTEN USE BREAKING NEWS STORIES. MAKE SURE WHAT YOU DON'T WANT TO SHARE IS SET TO PRIVATE. LASTLY, JUST CHECK YOUR FRIEND'S LIST, ARE YOU SURE YOU KNOW ALL OF THEM?
8: CREATE GOOD PASSWORDS: HACKERS HAVE PROGRAMS THAT GO THROUGH EVERY KNOWN WORD IN SECONDS. THE STRONGEST ARE PHRASES WITH 3 OR 4 WORDS INCLUDING UPPER AND LOWERCASE LETTERS ALONG WITH SYMBOLS 7W1N R4K3 7R£4$URE (TWIN RAKE TREASURE) GIVE A GOOD EXAMPLE. IT CAN BE DIFFICULT TO REMEMBER THESE SO MY TIP IS TO CREATE A PATTERN AS SHOWN ABOVE. A PASSWORD MANAGER IS A REALLY GOOD IDEA, HOWEVER, AS THIS GENERATES RANDOM PASSWORDS EVERY TIME YOU USE IT WITH SOME USING BIOMETRICS AND SOME EVEN BEING FREE!
THE IOT (INTERNET OF THINGS) IS ALL OF YOUR DEVICES AND EQUIPMENT THAT USE WIFI (WHICH USES RADIO WAVES), AND WE KNOW THAT RADIO WAVES CAN BE EASILY HACKED. THINK ABOUT THE THINGS YOU HAVE IN YOUR HOME: ALEXA, LAPTOPS, TABLETS, GAMING CONSOLES, SMARTWATCHES, BURGLAR ALARMS, SMART BULBS, ETC.. ALL OF THESE CAN BE USED TO GAIN ACCESS TO YOUR COMPUTER. AND IF YOU THINK NOTHING ON YOUR COMPUTER IS WORTH STEALING, THINK AGAIN! IN TODAY'S WORLD, INFORMATION IS MONEY ON THE BLACK MARKET.
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