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Cybersecurity Month: Protect yourself with these measures

The world has grown pretty scary in recent years.

  • Hackers attempted to poison a Florida water supply.
  • They cut off a major supplier of gasoline for the Southeastern states.
  • Ransomware appears to have contributed to an Alabama baby’s death.

Hackers steal personal information, money, and intellectual property almost on a daily basis. They’re like zombies – relentless and endless.

You have a choice – try to hide, which is impossible in our connected world – OR fight back.

We say: Fight back.

There are key weapons in this battle that everyone needs.

  • Multifactor Authentication. MFA stops 99 percent of attacks, according to the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Authority. MFA is like sunlight on vampires.
  • Software updates. ALWAYS use update your software. If there’s a remote chance you won’t do it right away, turn on automatic updates. Updates are like cutting off a zombie’s head.
  • Email skepticism. Carefully assess unknown or odd emails. Chances are very high the odd email is the start of an attack. Think before you click – don’t go into that garage with all the big knives owned by the maniac with the chainsaw.
  • Password managers. Use strong passwords generated by a password manager. Password managers keep passwords secure – and they have the added benefit of autofill, speeding up access. They offer a safe room to hide in relying on that spreadsheet stored on your laptop.

If you need help with any of these steps, CISA.gov has more in-depth information.

Take those four actions and the rest of the year should be less much less scary!