The Office of Information Technology recently invited the department staff to send in their Cyber Security tips. To celebrate Cyber Security month, we've pulled out the most compelling tips from the team and are presenting a tip for each work day in October!
Backup the important data on your computer regularly.
Use firewalls, anti-virus and anti-spyware programs.
Report security incidents immediately.
Don't be a vishing victim. Vishing convinces the email reader to call a "customer service" phone number that is answered by an automated voice system.
The website address (URL) can provide clues as to whether you are about to be scammed. Keywords in the URL, such as verify or update, can be an indication that the URL is a scam site. So too can URLs that contain just numbers.
Spread your password across the keyboard, avoid multiple keystrokes with one hand and avoid the 10-keypad.
Avoid opening attachments/E-mails from sources you are not expecting.
Physically secure your laptop/computer with a cable/lock and require a password to login.
ASSUME that anything you post to social networking sites, personal web pages, and blogs is public and could potentially be used against you, both personally and professionally.
Set laptops and mobile devices to "ask" before joining networks to avoid inadvertently joining an unsecure network.
Turn off Bluetooth devices if not in use.
Use caution when opening attachments and make sure they come from a trusted source.
Always lock your computer when stepping away and leaving it unattended/unsupervised.
Don't use your bank ATM card for internet transactions; one mistake could wipe out your checking account and cause a domino effect with overdrafts.
Protect your computer against power surges and brief outages.
Secure your wireless router by using encryption and the firewall.
Beware of websites that try to install software on your computer.
Erase your tracks. Internet Explorer 9 offers InPrivate browsing that leaves no trace of specific web activity.
Easy-to-remember-passwords, that are hard to guess: pick a favorite line from a book or song and use the first letter of each word and add a number. "It was the best of times, and worst of times" = iwtbotawot23.
If you are worried about "Social Engineering" ask for the main number, and their name. Call back, and ask the switchboard, or the auto-directory to connect you.
Use anti-virus software and update virus definitions regularly.