The last day of National Cyber Awareness Month just happens to coincide with Halloween. Anyone who has experienced a hack, ransomware, spyware, or other computer attack know that it can be a scary experience. To keep your network and data safe this Halloween and moving forward, let’s look back at the highlights provided by Stay Safe Online for this year’s National Cyber Security Awareness Month.
Cyber Security is Crucial for Business Success
If it doesn’t scare you that “86% of Americans say they avoid companies that don’t protect their privacy”, it should. This means one data leak or hack and you are scaring away not only the affected customers, but potential ones as well. You’ve seen the headlines when major corporations have had their networks comprised. Not having a solid cyber protection in place just isn’t worth the risk.
The way to avoid these issues is education. Your IT department shouldn’t be the only one who is looking out for your security. All employees should be aware of privacy policies and know how to look out for and report suspicious emails and computer activity.
We’re Not Protecting Our Private Information
Only 16 percent of those surveyed by the National Cyber Security Alliance are actually reading company privacy policies. Not knowing how
your private information is being used can be dangerous. Before giving out critical information such as your social security or credit card number, make sure you know how it’s being used and who will have access to it.
Most major companies should have a policy you can view. If you can’t find one, don’t be afraid to ask – and if you aren’t satisfied with the answer, err on the side of caution and take your business elsewhere. This also applies to using log-in information anywhere that isn’t the intended website.
It’s More Common Thank You Think
If you’ve never faced a cyber-attack before, it can be easy to think it will never happen to you – maybe you think your business is too small or your information not valuable. As a part of the NCASM, Microsoft released new information revealing that 2 out of 3 of those surveyed experienced a techs support scam in some way – with 1 in 5 continuing the fraudulent process in some, and 1 in 10 users losing money to the scam.
This is of course only one type of the MANY scams and viruses currently circulating the internet. Just because it hasn’t happened to you yet doesn’t mean it never well. Save your company some time and become cyber aware before it happens.
Shared Responsibility
While this is only a fraction of the information shared this month for National Cyber Security Awareness month, there has been an ongoing theme throughout the campaign – “keeping the Internet safe and secure is our shared responsibility.” It’s not just enough for some or even most internet users to be cyber aware. If we truly are going to keep the internet a safe place for everyone’s data and finances – it has to be a group effort.
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