European Cyber Security Month - Week 1: Basic Cyber Hygiene

European Cyber Security Month

"European Cyber Security Month is the EU’s annual awareness campaign that takes place each October across Europe. The aim is to raise awareness of cyber security threats, promote cyber security among citizens and organizations; and provide resources to protect themselves online, through education and sharing of good practices". (ECSM,2018)
This blog will cover one of this years key themes: "Basic Cyber Hygiene", we hope you enjoy!

Passwords

Having an simple password is super easy, right? Using the same password for the majority of your accounts is less stress, right? Give me a few minutes to sway you into taking the correct steps to avoid being an easy target.

Let me give you an example of how easily a hacker can snatch your data; say you use the same username and password on all your accounts. Figuratively speaking, say Facebook has a data breach where your username and passwords are stolen, a skilled hacker can easily test your details across multiple sites. In this case they would have enough details to break into any social media platforms, any shopping websites, apps etc.

No one expects you to remember 200+ strong passwords, tools such as Dashlane and LastPass are available (See our LastPass-How to blog post for more info). Nonetheless, we cannot stress enough how important it is to have a unique password for your email, it is vital!

Software Updates

To check for updates it is dead simple, just follow these steps to find out if you need an update!

For a Mac;

1. Open the App Store app.
2. Click Updates in the toolbar.
3. Click update to install any updates listed.

For Windows;

1. Go to windows icon.
2. Search or Windows Update.
3. Click check for updates on left hand side.
4. Click update to install any updates listed.

Keeping software and apps updated is super important as updates are released to fix weaknesses that might be easy targets for cyber criminals.

Antivirus software is essential to protect your computer from viruses and other types of malware, such as ransomware and spyware. Strathclyde University offers a range of free antivirus, have a search on Pegasus to install.

Backup your data

Plan for total destruction of your device at all times! Once you drop your phone down the toilet you can't get the information back. A suggestion is to use a cloud storage (OneDrive, DropBox or iCloud). If you are a Strathclyde student you can use its cloud service OneDrive online file storage.The University provides free secure cloud storage for you to use as your primary storage, as a backup, to access your files remotely, or to share files with others.

Lastly, if you decide to start backing up your data do it regularly so if something was to happen, would you have minimal impact.

Privacy 

Privacy settings have become really important, not only for data security but also for employability. Managers and recruiters of most firms access candidates’ social media platforms before offering them a job, because our social presence says a lot about ourselves. It is necessary to modify settings to be in control of what people can see about you. If you are interested please see our blog on Facebook Privacy Settings.

If you are into your sports you will know the recent scandals on the biking app Strava, where thousands of pounds worth of bikes were stolen due to over sharing of personal details. To find out more click on the link below to view the article;

Click Here

If you have the Strava app and are not aware of the Privacy Settings, see below for their Privacy Setting Help;

Click Here 


Stay tuned as new exciting things are going to happen this month! Our next blog post will be about a scam received by a Strathclyde student! Also, we will have a guest blog post from a Cyber Security Expert especially for ECSM!!