Remote Worker Cyber Hygiene Tips

COVID19 has slowed down business but unfortunately hasn’t slowed down cybercrime. In our new reality we need to work from home in a safe and secure way to protect both our personal and corporate data. With that said, here is a work from home security tips designed to keep you and your family safe 

Be aware of phishing emails 

Cybercriminals are out in full force now more than ever, using COVID19 to play on people’s emotions in attempt to get to gain access to their sensitive information. Be especially cautious when being asked to open an email attachment or click on any links, especially ones that invoke strong emotion.  

Keep your security up to date 

Ensure that you continue to update your security solutions across all devices. This will help protect devices against malware, phishing attacks, and other threats, as well as help identify malicious websites while browsing. 

Update your privacy settings 

Make sure your devices are using the best privacy settings.  

Especially make sure you adjust app location settings, so that your location history isn’t leaking where it shouldn’t. For extra measure, review the apps you have installed. If there are any you haven’t used for a while, remove them to reduce the chance of your personal data being shared in the background.  

Don’t share your personal information 

Be extra careful about online requests for important personal information, including usernames and passwords, credit card numbers, social security number, address and phone number 

Use strong, unique passwords 

Make sure to use complex passwords for each of your accounts, and never reuse your credentials across different platforms. It’s also a good idea to update your passwords consistently to further protect your data. You can also use a password manager, or a security solution that includes a password manager, to keep track of all your unique passwords. 

Know what you have connected 

When working from home the best way to have a secure mindset with smart devices is to know what devices you have actually connected to your home network. If you don’t know, simply turn off your Wi-Fi and see what stops working. 

Consider an upgrade 

Is it time to upgrade anything you already have for a more secure device? 

Watch out for outages 

A hardware outage may result in an unsecured state for your device. Make sure you check on them after you notice an outage. 

Factory reset devices before getting rid of them 

Should you decide to throw away, sell or give away your smart device, during this time of increased home usage, make sure you take the necessary precautions to remove all your data. Don’t let the next person get their hands on it or give them the ability to communicate with other devices on your network. 

Talk to your loved ones about good cyber hygiene 

Many times, we assume the young loved ones in our life have good cyber hygiene because they grew up with technology, but numerous studies prove that is not the case. Go over this list with the young loved ones in your life 

Every time we connect something to the digitally connected world, whether from home or work, we are creating a new potential vulnerability for a cybercriminal to take advantage of. Unfortunately, this is especially true during the time of a crisis 

At Cypfer we believe cybersecurity is not one incident or point in time; rather, it is a journey. Cypfer provides strategies to mitigate cybersecurity threats via offensive security services, digital forensicsincident response services, and cybersecurity awareness training services.  

Contact us now for more information.