How To Avoid Cyber Crime in 2020 ... With Warren Jacobs
Tech Trailblazer Warren Jacobs
Digital technology is an integral part of our life. From how we set alarms to wake up in the morning to heating, lighting and driving, life is just better with our binary friends “1s & 0s”. But as life becomes more complex, so do the unpleasant crooks that try to swindle us out of our hard-earned money. The days of Nigerian Prince that only need £500 from you to help release locked bank accounts and share the spoils of good fortune are evolving into much more personal and sinister tactics.
As the challenge of work-life balance becomes ever more blurred, so do the demarcations between personal data and that of the business. Even though you still enjoy using memorable passwords, don’t forget that if someone hacks your work files, the next easy step is to test those passwords against your email to unlock your eBay, Amazon and financial data.
Google conducted a study with 2,000 people and researched methods of choosing passwords, which concluded that most people choose passwords that are easy to remember, but it also means that most accounts can still be hacked. Trust me, I know from experience. A new mobile number, new credit cards and numerous calls to banks taught me the hard way that people can hack you through your mobile phone provider. So if there is one takeaway from this article, avoid using any of the following for passwords:
Pet names
Notable dates/years
Your child’s name
Your birthplace
‘Password’
There are dozens of ways for cyber-crime to manifest, but email continues to be the preferred method.
The reason is that the sophistication of attacks is to the point where hackers can send email and SMS messages from accounts created to look like they have come from people known to their target, which creates a trust factor for the recipient.
To protect yourself and your business, here are my five top tips:
Never use an open network Wi-Fi connection. It’s easy for criminals to access your mobile device
Use an app like Lastpass to create and store difficult passwords
Only download apps from reputable sources
Use reliable browsers like Chrome or Firefox that frequently update their security measures
Stay vigilant with email, and don’t accept random purchase or transfer requests (if in doubt, pick up the phone to verify)
If you pick up some good precautionary habits, you should reduce your chances of being targeted.
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