If you're concerned about the constant flow of outrageous breaking news reports about cybercrime, we are too. As the fastest-growing criminal activity in the U.S., cybercrime is wreaking havoc by maliciously disabling and damaging computers, breaching systems to mine personal data, gaining unauthorized access to networks, and even disrupting global production.
Cybercriminals have recently shifted towards the profitable reward of bigger payouts by targeting businesses. But individual consumers should actively work to protect their personal and professional information to prevent being hacked. The FBI reported a 400% spike in reported cybercrimes to their Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) since the beginning of the COVID pandemic. The dramatic shift to a highly remote workplace and heavy reliance on the internet for important information and services provided a unique opportunity for cybercrime.
Phishing and ransomware are now the most preferred methods of data theft. While it's become a serious risk to business production and services, the threats are still very real for consumers. Let's talk about how these prominent types of cyberattacks happen and best practices to protect you and your family.
Ransomware is a form of malware designed to extort money by threatening to cause extensive damage to your data or perpetually block access to it unless a ransom is paid. This malware program holds your computer hostage and demands payment to get a decryption key that gives access back to you.
Your computer picks up ransomware through phishing emails with links or attachments or drive-by downloading. Drive-by downloading can happen when you visit an infected website and malware is downloaded and installed without your knowledge. There are other varieties of ransomware that spread through social media and instant messaging applications.
In a phishing scheme, you are tricked by email or text into providing valuable information like passwords to accounts, credit card details, and intellectual property. The fake correspondence disguised as your bank, credit card company, or tax department provides a link and asks you to do something, like reset a password or make an account change. There's often a sense of urgency or a claim that your account is in danger.
Consider how much of your personal information is at risk. Your device tracks each online account, every transaction you make, and sensitive data with every keystroke and download. You also most likely have all your pictures and other valuable content at risk. With the following six smart practices, you can prevent an attack and protect yourself against expensive damage and heartbreaking loss.
Most people don't update their systems unless they are experiencing a problem. But an outdated computer or device is like a home without door locks. Whether it's Windows on your PC or IOS on your phone, keeping up with the freshest update is not only good for bug fixes and compatibility issues, but it's critical to reducing your software vulnerabilities from the most recent security threats. You can even schedule automatic updates in your settings, so you don't have to remember to keep up with it.
Using complex passwords unique to each device and account is extremely important to securing your data. And change them regularly. Using a password manager is an easy way to protect all your access points.
If you don't opt for a password manager and want to create and manage passwords yourself, be sure to use long passwords with upper and lower case letters and other unique characters. Here are some other good features:
Phishing schemes often involve emails or texts with malicious links that are not what they seem. They disguise themselves as an organization you have an account with, like your bank, an online payment website or app, a credit card company, social networking site, or an online store. They even steal logos and may appear like the real thing. Here's what to look for:
More and more vendors of accounts offer multi-factor authentication. If they do, use it. The process provides another layer of protection by requiring two or more credentials to log in, like a code or authentication app.
It's always a good idea to back up your computer files to the cloud or an external hard drive that is not connected to your network. A data backup is a copy of the important information stored on your devices and can be used to restore it after a ransomware attack, device failure, or theft. You can purchase an external hard drive for less than $100. It should be disconnected from your network when not in use.
Cyber coverage is becoming a valuable part of an insurance portfolio. It protects your assets by providing coverage for identity theft expenses, cyber extortion costs, and data leaks, plus credit card fraud, forgery, and wire transfer fraud.
If you clicked on a link or opened an attachment, here's how to take action immediately:
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