October is Cyber Security Awareness Month. It’s the perfect time to share some important information that can help you prevent a cyber attack on private and confidential information at work and at home.
Your IT department works behind the scenes to provide protection from hackers, but, everyone has a role to play in keeping our computer systems secure.
Each week, you will have a chance to enter our draw to win a $100 Amazon Gift Card by providing the correct answer to our trivia question. You can get up to 4 entries into the draw if you answer all the questions correctly. The draw will take place on November 1, 2023 and the winner will be shared in the following staff newsletter.
What is Smishing?
Smishing is type of phishing scam, it comes in the form of a text message. Smishing is also known as SMS phishing that can arrive by iMessage, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp or any other messaging platforms.
Smishing messages typically send a link containing malware or a spoofed website. These spoofing techniques tailor messages to look like it’s from a legitimate organization. (E.g. bank, government) Cyber criminals now have the ability to steal your data, your money or your identity.
How to protect yourself
- Don’t Click or respond to suspicious texts.
- Pause, stop and consider the context.
- Investigate, do a web search of the phone number and message.
- Delete the message and block.
Passwords
Passwords provide the first line of defense against unauthorized access to your computer and personal information. You should never give your password to anyone! That includes your manager, people you know and trust including IT staff.
Hackers can break down your passwords by sending phishing emails, guessing common passwords and monitoring Wi-Fi traffic.
How to create and manage strong and effective passwords
Your password should be easy to remember but difficult to guess. Use a passphrase for your password. A passphrase is a sequence of words that can be easily memorized.
Combat this by creating complex passphrases using these rules:
- Change passwords and upgrade to passphrases to include numbers, special characters and a minimum of 15 characters.
- Use special characters like &%$ to separate words.
- Work passphrases should be different from personal passphrases.
- Use a unique password for each system, device or platform.
- Do no reuse passphrases.
- Do not write down your passphrases and leave near or on your computer/desk.
- Do not use ‘remember password’ functions for systems, services or software.
- Always enable two-factor authentication if available.
Do you have a cyber security question for IT? Send it to help.desk@tbh.net and we will publish your questions and answers in early November.