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Cyber-attacks are on the rise; so, what can we do to protect our identity and keep our information safe? Read my action To-Do-List to keep yourself safe online and out and about.

it was only last week when Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust suffered a major incident after systems were infected by a computer virus and now this week Tesco Bank suffered a sophisticated attack which saw monies taken from 20,000 of its customers’ accounts.

Here are my recommendations to keeping you safe online and out and about.

General Rules

Use a quality anti-virus solution and keep it up to date. There is no point scrimping on security here, an anti-virus application will provide several security benefits including malware protection, firewall and browsing protection.
Always use a strong password, which is a critical factor of preventing access to your information. It doesn’t have to be overly complicated either, simply take this famous pangram “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” and ask yourself how many ways can you write just part of this sentence (i.e. “TheQuickBrownFox”, “Th3Qu1ckBr0wnF0x”, or “Th3QBF0x”)? You can use your own sentence and create your own short versions to create your password, there is literally endless possibilities and combinations.
Password protect your PC and lock it when you step away, even if you are just visiting the loo.

Safe Browsing

One of the biggest concerns most people have is with safe browsing, but what does that mean? I define it as visiting known websites or searching for information on the Internet. To safely surf the Internet you should follow these simple rules:

Never search for a website that you know the address for, always type the fully URL of the website instead of just the name. For example when visiting the BBC website don’t just type “bbc” into a search engine as you are then presented with a mountain of responses to choose from and the first one isn’t always the correct one, instead type “www.bbc.co.uk” which will take you straight to the site.
Always use bookmarks for regularly visited websites (i.e. Bank, shopping sites, etc.)
Never install browser add-ons, toolbars and extentions when you don’t know what they do, this is one of the major causes of browser hijacking to date.
Turn on Pop-up blocker to stop ads and unwanted browser activity and selectively allow only those sites who need them (i.e. your bank might sometimes pop-up a window to present your latest bank statement).

Out and About

Cyber security isn’t just about what you do at home and work on your computers, it is also about what you do when you are out shopping, visiting friends and using your mobile devices. Here are my recommendations to reducing your chances of being cyber attacked when you’re out and about.

Check that cash machines haven’t been tampered with, credit card fraud can happen if a criminal has skimmed your card directly from a machine that has been altered to read your card and capture your PIN.
Always make sure no one can see your PIN number when typing it in, this should always be observed in shops and cash machines. Don’t be afraid to ask people to step back if they are too close.
Lock you mobile devices with a PIN in case you loose it and enable track and trace.
Don’t keep PIN numbers written down and if you absolutely have to don’t keep them in the same place as your cards.
Never let your card out of your sight, even at your friendly supermarket
If someone asks to use your mobile phone in an emergency just ask for the name of the person they want to call and the number and call it yourself, only handover the handset once you are assured you are dialling a legitimate number and talking to real person.

My last piece of advice I want to share with you is this, DATA is KING, after all cyber crimes are not just about stealing your money, it’s about stealing your information and the more detailed the information the better. So we must back it up and back it up with a quality backup solution. It is admiral to watch someone backup their data to a USB pen drive or external hard drive only to then loose it or break it. If you get hit with ransomware, lose your mobile device or simply delete your data (accidentally or by malware) the chances of recovery has been increased significantly when correctly backing up your data.

Cyber Attacks – What To Do?

General Rules

Safe Browsing

Out and About

Further Reading