Data and digital asset security are major components of life in the current era. The internet is still in its wild west stage, and this means there are lots of bank robberies (digitally speaking, of course). Cybercrime is on the rise, and it’s regular people and businesses that are being targeted, not just high-profile companies with lots of snazzy data. With that in mind, the following will look at a few vital steps you need to take in order to keep your precious digital assets secure. The emphasis will be on cloud assets, but most of your digital belongings can be better protected by following these guidelines.
Improve Your Passwords
One of the easiest things you can do to improve all your digital security and privacy efforts is to use strong passwords. Password-guessing tools are commonly used by hackers, and they can attempt hundreds or even thousands of passwords per minute. This means that all simple passwords can be hacked in an incredibly short period of time. You’re looking for a non-word combination of letters, numbers, and symbols with capital and lowercase letters. The more complex your password, the harder it’s going to be to hack.
Store Your Passwords Safely
While many online articles will recommend using a password keeper or protector service to store all your passwords, it’s important to note that these companies can get hacked just like any other company can get hacked. What makes this scary is that they’re more likely to be targeted for big data raids. The best case scenario involves not storing your passwords anywhere digital, not on your phone, not on your computer, not on some program designed to remember your passwords. Analog password storage is far more ideal. This is because it’s a lot harder for a hacker to get into your kitchen and open a notebook that’s stored in your cupboard, and flip through the pages until they find the right password. Hackers have a relatively easy time getting into your devices, especially if you don’t take proper precautions.
Be Wary Of Public Wifi
Public wifi is incredibly convenient. It’s also a major problem in a ton of different ways. Not only is it seriously bad for our health, but it makes hacking a lot easier. When several different people are all on the same wifi network, particularly if that network isn’t secured, cybercrime gets a whole lot easier. Hackers are able to target nearby devices through shared wifi. If you can avoid shared wifi accounts altogether, this is best. If you can’t, you want to look for secured networks, and you never want to do important things while connected. Avoid things like banking and entering passwords to important accounts while using a shared wifi account.
Train The Team
If the cloud assets you’re looking to secure are part of a project that involves multiple people, you want to ensure that everyone on the team is doing all they can to protect the assets. A large chunk of cybercrime occurs because people fall for simple phishing scams or other tricks. Make sure your team has been trained on proper security protocols and has been taught about the common types of scams that can put projects at risk. This will dramatically reduce the pathways available for data theft or damage.
If you’re running a business, it’s not a matter of whether you will get hacked; it’s a matter of when. Cybercrime is an exploding industry; some have even called it a pandemic. Billions of dollars are lost yearly due to breaches in cybersecurity, and this number is only expected to rise. Businesses of all sizes and in all industries are being targeted. Individuals are also being targeted.
Work With Professionals
Depending on the assets you’re trying to protect, and what would happen if they were breached, you may want to work with a team of professionals. According to Dig.Security, having constant monitoring of sensitive data can lead to stopping attacks before the exfiltration stage. When something is highly valuable or highly sensitive, real-time security is likely your best option because, again, every business should expect a cyber attack to come at them at some point.
Update Everything
When you get a nudge from your device to update, this is a task of vital importance. One of the main reasons updates are released is the discovery of an easy pathway to a data breach. Upon discovering this loophole in their security, companies quickly develop a solution to that problem and release it in the form of an update. If you have software that isn’t updated, you’re putting yourself and your assets at unnecessary risk. Yes, it can be annoying to stop using your device for the time it will take to update, but it’s far more annoying to lose sensitive information.
Keep The Team Small
The more people and devices accessing a particular cloud-based asset, the higher the risk something could go wrong. People make mistakes; devices get hacked. If you keep the team small, you have fewer pathways an attack can come from. And if you do find yourself with a security breach, it’s a lot easier to figure out how the hackers got in and stop them when you have only a few people who can access certain assets. Make sure that everyone who has access to what you’re trying to protect has a good reason for having access.
Have A Hacking Plan
While no one wants to plan for an attack, this is an essential part of working digitally in this era. You need to know that attacks happen, and this means you need a contingency plan to help reduce data loss and financial hits. Depending on your industry and what you can safely turn off at what time, this is going to look different for everyone. You might want to speak to a professional security team about recommended steps to take should a breach occur.
The above information should have made it clear that cybercrime is a part of your life if you’re storing anything on a digital device or cloud. Hackers and those who protect people from hackers are in a constant race to outsmart one another; sometimes, the hackers win, and sometimes, the defenders win. Given how rapidly cyberattacks evolve, it’s important that you understand security isn’t something you can do once and then relax about. It needs to be constantly studied and updated.
