Recapping Cyber Security Awareness Month
Cyber Security –Are You Protected?
October was Cyber Security Awareness month, however awareness is a daily necessity. Think you are not worthy of being an online predator’s target? Think again! Your identity, financial data and what is in your e-mail are all valuable – both personal and company. Cyber criminals cast a wide net to get to unsuspecting people who think they wouldn’t be a likely target.
Here’s a few helpful tips to keep in mind.
· Create a strong password. Did you know the most common password is “password” followed by a number? According to Microsoft statistics, nearly 1,287 password attacks occur every second and other reports reflect 84% of internet users admit to reusing passwords.
o Make your password long, at least 15 characters(with multiple characters sets – letter, numbers, and special characters).
o Password should be Unique – never used anywhere else even for your personal accounts.
o Randomly generated, ideally by a password manager
o Never save/store them in a non-secure manner(Word Documents, Excel Files, Text files).
o Change your passwords on a regular basis. Shorter and weaker passwords should be changed more often and ideally made stronger and longer.
· Multifactor Authentication. Two Factor Authentication, Multifactor Authentication, Two-step Authentication, MFA, 2FA,etc. – they all mean the same thing. Opting to add an extra step to validate you are who you say you are. There are 3 accepted “factors” shown below. The second step, or factor, is a lot harder for the bad guys to compromise.
o You are likely to see prompts for this all over– workplaces, financial services, social media, and online stores. Take a few minutes to identify the websites you use that aren’t MFA-enabled. Do they permit opt-in and if so, enable it. If they don’t permit MFA you should reconsider using that site / service.
· Obtain your company’s Cyber Risk Report. Contact us at marine@intlbondmarine.com for your FREE report today!
“With access to over 15+ Cyber Insurance companies, trust that our team of experts stop at nothing to find the best pricing and coverage for your business. Rest assured, knowing the livelihoods of your employees and clients are no longer in jeopardy.” Kevin Carney, Business Development Specialist, International Bond & Marine Brokerage LTD