How To Stay Safe Online – Tips for Getting Cybersmart

IT business giants like Microsoft and other market biggies have planned to help everyone stay #CyberSmart. Yes, it’s time to become smarter because the motive is to protect individual cyber details as we watch our finances and other auspicious physical assets. The same implies to the digital asset too. There’s the only difference between the platform and the precautions we should follow to protect our assets.

So, now keeping it simple and jumping into the main question that we generally ask ourselves “Is it easy to stay online?”. The answer to this question is “Yes,” where you have to stay informed, careful, and updated about all the cybersecurity threats and the latest tech advancements to protect your details from all the malware activities and other cyber threats.

This blog lists the ways to stay safe online collected from all the resources and suggested by IT experts. Keep reading this blog, we have some bonus tips to keep safer, or we can say #Staysafe and #Becybersmart.

Security Begins From Awareness

Comprehensive security is vital in today’s boundaryless workplace. For this, we need 360-degree protection that requires special knowledge and awareness to safeguard cyber identities, data, and devices. Attending awareness programs guides the security team in managing human risk by changing people’s viewpoints about cybersecurity, helping them stay secure, and practicing suitable activities. 

According to the SANS 2022 Security Awareness Report, we have collected data from 1000+ cybersecurity professionals worldwide to identify how companies manage cyber threats. The report also states that more than 69% of security professionals are part-time employed. It means they are spending half their time on security awareness.

As per the SANS report, cybersecurity awareness professionals should endeavour to:

• Engage management members by concentrating on terms that resonate with them and demonstrate support for their strategic business priorities. “Don’t discuss what you are doing. Speak about why you are doing it.”
• Employ a 10-to-1 ratio of tech security professionals to human-focused security professionals.
• Partner with other departments in the company—such as human resources, communications, and business operations—to assist in engaging and communicating with your workforce.
• “Just like working out, frequency is necessary.” Make the training program easy to understand and follow. And devote time to gathering information about the awareness programs’ impact.

It’s High Time Now. Know The Tips

Despite the rise of (RaaS) ransomware as a service and other sophisticated tools, humans remain the most reliable, low-cost attack vector for all cyber criminals globally. In 2022, the most common reasons for cyberattacks are still 22% malware and 20 % phishing. So, we all should stay informed about how to prevent data breaches and defend ourselves in the cyber world.

#1. Phishing
Deceitful emails, fake websites, fake text SMS—these phishing scams accounted for 30% of cyber attacks in 2021. At Terranova’s annual Gone Phishing Tournament last year, 19.8 % of people clicked on the phishing email link. In comparison, 14.4% downloaded fake documents. So, how can we avoid these risks?

• Inspect the sender’s email address for verifiable contact details. Common phishing tip-offs have a misspelt or unrelated sender address. If in doubt, do not reply. Instead, make a new email address for responding.
• Don’t click on any links or open email attachments unless you get them from the email address.

#2. Devices & Software
Unpatched, outdated devices and software are the central point for cybercriminals. That’s why having an excellent cyber practice in place can avoid destructive malware that can steal users’ personal information. Protect your devices with the following practices:

• Switch the lock feature on all your mobile phones, tabs, laptops, and devices.
• Activate the multifactor authentication system on all your sensitive applications and accounts.
  

#3. Scams
Hackers and cyber criminals often contact you to “fix” a nonexistent problem. Those emails or text messages contain a sense of urgency, insisting you take immediate action. It contains text like Act now to protect or any concern message that will make you take action. Yes, it’s true, and thousands of people have fallen into this trap. You should always report these suspected scams and inform the organization to take strict action.

Here are a few tips to remember:

• Be doubtful of all the unsolicited tech support calls or error messages demanding urgent action.
• Don’t follow prompts to download the applications or software from any third-party or unknown source.
• Open a separate browser page directly to the company’s webpage whenever you are in doubt.

#4. Passwords
Though, we all have unique passwords for our digital assets. It’s our first defence against unauthorized access to devices, accounts, and files. But managing everything is quite difficult, and on average, a user has 150+ online accounts where password-forgetting possibilities are pretty obvious. 

Passwords are our first defence against unauthorized access to accounts, devices, and files. However, the average person now has more than 150 online accounts; password fatigue is always dangerous. Following are a few tips you can consider to protect your passwords:

• Use a browser’s password generator to devise a stronger password.
• Try to avoid accessing personal and financial details using a public wireless network.
• Also, use a password manager, or get passwordless.

Concluding Note- Try to Stay #Cybersmart All Year Around

Though, we haven’t discussed the cybersecurity practices to follow in the cyber security awareness month only. The motive is simple “Stay Informed and Smart All Year Around” in this digital world because cybercriminals are working all around the clock to take advantage of your online vulnerabilities. They are persistent and driven, working all day with no day off.

So, keep yourself informed and updated about everything essential to stay safe in this Internet market. We hope that now you understand that it’s easy to stay safe online with some correct practices.

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