How to avoid the top home and business cybersecurity threats

 by Burton Kelso, The Technology Expert
 

​     As we evolve into more of a digital world, every year cybercrime becomes more of a problem. With many of you and your businesses moving to a remote workforce because of the COVID19 pandemic, it has made criminals increase their focus on attacking both home and business users.
     99% of crime requires user interaction which means if you take the time to educate yourself about the different cyber threats on the Internet, you can keep yourself and your business safe.  Read on to see what threats you might encounter this year and how to protect yourself from them.

1. Accidental Sharing.
     This occurs when you or a friend accidentally shares sensitive information such as hitting 'reply all' to an email or when you use Carbon Copy (CC) to send out an email to a lot of connections rather than clicking on Blind Carbon Copy (BCC). Cybercriminals love when you send out emails with email accounts exposed. 
     This gives them a list of new people they can trick with the latest scams.  With many of you working from home, you can easily make the mistake of sending out a sensitive email to your friends and social media connection rather than your co-workers.

     How to Stay Safe: Don't be in such a rush when sending out emails and other information. When you fail to take the time to watch what information you're sharing, you're risking exposing sensitive information such as passwords to home and work accounts, company sensitive emails, and more.  

2. PDF Scams.
     If you aren't familiar with what a PDF is, it stands for "Portable Document Format" and was developed by Adobe. These scams are on the rise because even though you will probably avoid clicking on a link on an email or downloading most attachments, you probably will attempt to open up a PDF file. Why?  Well, if you see a PDF file as a file attachment, you will assume it's an important document and open it up.

     How to Stay Safe: Beware of generic emails that show up in your inbox that come from unknown sources and have generic greetings. Also, if you get a PDF file unexpectantly if possible call the sender of the email to verify they were the ones who sent it.

3. Credential Stuffing.
     The act of credential stuffing means using the same user name and password information to log into online accounts. This form of cybercrime relies on people not changing their login credentials on a regular basis. Cybercriminals get on the dark web to look for user name and password data dumps. 
     Once they get this information, they use bots to automatically your information to attempt to log into common social media and email sites to get the personal data stored in these accounts. Once they get more information about you and where you visit on the internet, they will use this information to log into your financial accounts and even work accounts.

     How to Stay Safe: It's important that you keep an eye on large-scale data breaches to verify your information hasn't been leaked as well as making sure you don't use the same user names and passwords for your online accounts. Check to see if your information has been leaked at www.fightingidentitycrimes.com and at www.haveibeenpwned.com.  Keep track of all of your pesky passwords by storing them in your favorite web browser or use a password management software program like LastPass (www.lastpass.com)

4. Vishing and SMShing.
     Vishing or voice call phishing has been around for a while (think tech support scam phone calls), but SMShing or SMS Text phishing has risen during the pandemic because people respond to text messages easier making it more likely that you'll fall for a scam. 
     Both use a technic called "social engineering' which is designed to get you to react to a phone call or email rather than taking the time to think if it's a legit call or not.  Samples of these types of attacks usually involve there is a problem with a personal or work account, problems with your computers and technology, or a subtle sales pitch to get you to purchase something you don't need.

     How to Stay Safe: The best defense against voice phishing and SMS  phishing is to ignore the message if you don't recognize who's calling or leaving a message.  If you're a small business or home user, limit who you share your home or mobile phone number with. 
     If you have to share a number with the public, create a 'free' phone number with Whatsapp (www.whatsapp.com) or Google Voice (www.google.com). If you have a lot of incoming spam calls coming in, sign up for the Do Not Call Registry at www.donotcall.gov. Check to see if your mobile carrier offers spam call and text protection.  You should also consider download and using the RoboKiller app (www.robokiller.com).

5. Ransomware.
     Ransomware is probably one of the most devastating cyber threats on the web today.  If your home or office computer is infected with ransomware, it could mean the files on your devices are lost forever. 
     Ransomware encrypts or locks up the pictures and documents on your devices. Ransomware is so lethal, it will infect multiple devices that are connected together on your home or office network, including cloud storage services and external hard drives used for backup. You are only able to gain access to them if you pay the ransom criminals will put up.  

     How To Stay Safe:  Ransomware normally shows up in the form of a phishing email, so think before you click on any link or attachment that shows up in your inbox.  Set up an automatic backup system for all of your home and office devices. 
     Services like Carbonite (www.carbonite.com) can keep your Windows and Macintosh safe in the cloud with automatic backup.  For your smartphones and tablets, it's worth it to pay Apple and Google the extra money for storage to allow you to backup your information to their cloud services.

     In a world where the internet connects all your devices and allows you to work from home and communicate with your loved ones, staying on top of cyber threats has never been more important. If you need additional help, don't hesitate to reach out to me.

Looking for More Useful Tech Tips?

     Our Tuesday Tech Tips Blog is released every Tuesday. If you like video tips, we live stream new episodes of 'Computer and Tech Tips for Non-Tech People'  every Wednesday at 6:00 pm CST on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Technology product reviews are posted every Thursday. You can view previous episodes on our YouTube channel.  

     Want to ask me a tech question? Send it to burton@callintegralnow.com. I love technology. I've read all of the manuals and I'm serious about making technology fun and easy to use for everyone.

     Need computer or technology help? If you need on-site or remote tech support for your Windows\Macintosh, computers, laptops, Android/Apple smartphone, tablets, printers, routers, smart home devices, and anything that connects to the Internet, please feel free to contact my team at Integral. Our team of friendly tech experts organization can help you with any IT needs you might have.  Reach out to us a www.callintegralnow.com or phone at 888.256.0829.