The Importance of Cybersecurity Vigilance

Today, cybersecurity is everyone’s responsibility. Our modern lives are full of opportunities for cybercriminals to breach our security; the consequences of their actions can include everything from stealing passwords, to retrieving our data for nefarious purposes, to direct monetary theft. These are the most common attacks that cybercriminals implement — and some of the simplest steps you can take to protect yourself, whether you are at home or work. 

Hacking 

Hacking is the original cybercrime, and it has only gotten more dangerous over the decades. If hackers can access your login information, they may steal your identity to take over your creditor or online shopping accounts. They may even take out loans in your name. Other times, they sell your information to other cybercriminals on the dark web. In business, cybercriminals may use hacking to attack entire organizations they wish to take down. 

How to Protect Yourself from Hackers

Hackers implement a variety of methods to attack, but their primary weapon is password theft. The easiest way to protect yourself is to guard your passwords by changing them frequently and using complicated passwords.

You can manage your login information to shopping, credit, and banking websites via a secure password management app. 

Phishing

Phishing, a common gateway to hacking, is an even simpler cybercrime for these individuals to commit. Phishers attack by sending you bogus emails that surreptitiously ask for your security information and personal details. To protect yourself from phishers:

• Do not reply to their message.
• Do not click any links in their message. 
• Do not open any attachments on their message. 
• Use your email server’s reporting tool to report them. 
• Alert your IT department, if you are at work.

How to Spot a Phishing Message

How can you tell if an email is a phishing message? Often, the cybercriminal will impersonate a well-known corporation or service that many users are familiar with. Look for misspellings, poor grammar, unprofessional language, strange greetings (i.e. \”Dear Sir or Madam\”), and oddly urgent calls for you to act \”immediately.\” Often, a phishing email will have mismatched email domains (i.e. claiming to be from your bank, despite coming from a Gmail, Yahoo or Hotmail address). When you see an email that doesn’t look right, slow down and examine the message before doing anything further. If the message claims to be your bank or credit card service, compare it to other messages you have received from them before. The phishing email will likely stand out because of these distinguishing factors. 

Viruses, Malware and Ransomware 

Viruses are no small matter. When a hacker uses unauthorized code to give your computer a virus, or installs malware on your device without your consent, the repercussions are severe. Viruses and malware can completely disable your computer performance, mine your data, erase your files, or encrypt your data so you can no longer access it. In the case of business, the most malicious viruses can hijack an entire organization. If ransomware is used, the goal of the cybercriminal is to keep your data from you until you pay them. 

How to Protect Against Viruses 

At both home and business, it is critical to protect your devices from virus-unleashing hackers by investing in reliable anti-virus software. Anti-virus programs can deploy many effective methods to stop hackers; they detect destructive threats in real time and remove them, thwarting the attempts of cybercriminals. The best anti-virus programs will also regularly scan your system to continue looking for threats to neutralize. 

Call Secure Systems to Learn More

These are some of the most important reasons for cybersecurity vigilance, and how you can protect yourself from cybercriminals at home and work. We care about all aspects of our customers’ security, and that includes cybersecurity. If you’re seeking a Bakersfield security company that puts your best interests first, Secure Systems is here for you. Call us today to discuss the security needs of your home or business. 

About Secure Systems 

Secure Systems is a Bakersfield alarm company that installs alarms for homes and businesses. We also install residential camera systems and business camera systems, commercial and residential fire alarm systems, wireless monitoring, remote access alarm systems, access control and door buzzers in Bakersfield and Kern County. Call us today at (661) 220-5354.