草莓污视频导航

May 2, 2019

How to become your own cybersecurity expert

At home and at 草莓污视频导航, being aware can help prevent cybercrime
Cybersecurity depends on you.

Cybersecurity depends on you.

鈥淭here are countless criminal opportunities in the cyber world today and they come with a lot less risk as well as higher potential rewards for the bad guys,鈥 says Richard DeBruyne, IT director of security and architecture at 草莓污视频导航, and a 草莓污视频导航 computer science alum.

鈥淲here we used to have bank robberies and extortion, we now have cyber heists and ransomware. For good or bad, tech is pushing everything we do including our work, our social network and our money into cyber equivalents. The same is true of cybercrime,鈥 DeBruyne adds.

That can never happen to me

Sean Murray, lead IT security operations, says, 鈥淥nline compromise is much more common than you might think. Every day聽聽globally are compromised as the result of a breach. Of those, 56 per cent are the result of compromised social media alone. If you have an online presence in today鈥檚 world, you may have already been聽.鈥

While statistics vary depending on the source, what is clear is that identity theft (or fraud) is rising in Canada. Per 100,000 Canadians, pure聽聽have risen from 2.27 in 2010 to 8.9 in 2017. Recovery from this crime can be incredibly challenging, with stolen savings, destroyed credit ratings and years of legal battles facing victims.

Individual responsibility

The truth about cybersecurity is that it depends on you. Like fitness or financial health, cybersecurity should be a part of who you are. You need to think about it and take steps to protect yourself. A large part is simply being educated about what can and is happening. A little preventive effort can go a long way to protect you from a potential cyber nightmare.

How do I become cybersecure?

It is a big question, and sometimes confusing for those who are not tech savvy. 鈥淐ybercriminals will try to attack in almost any way a person can think of, so the sheer variety of possibilities is almost overwhelming,鈥 says Murray.

Part of the solution in this hurry-up world is to simply slow down.

  • Take the time to ensure email addresses are correct and owned by who you think they are.
  • Don鈥檛 click on a link or an attachment to an email that you aren鈥檛 sure is legit.
  • Never share your passwords, and change your passwords frequently 鈥斅爑nfortunately today passwords are still the keys to your cyber life 鈥斅燼t home and at work.
  • Protect your technology 鈥斅爉ake sure your personal devices are protected with anti-virus software and a firewall to prevent them from being manipulated by unknown parties.
  • Think before you post 鈥斅燼sk yourself if that information is a piece of the puzzle someone needs to hijack your life 鈥斅燼lso ask if it might set you apart from the crowd and make you interesting to unscrupulous characters.
  • Don鈥檛 be social engineered 鈥斅爐his is the number one way people are compromised 鈥斅燽e wary about what is being asked of you and that the bad guys play heavily on trickery and the exploitation of trust.

DeBruyne suggests, 鈥淥pen your eyes, and become your own cybersecurity expert, self-aware and self-protective. Take care of your security just like you take care of everything else in your life 鈥斅爈earn to be secure and protect your world.鈥

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