Day: 11 October 2021

How to protect yourself from a data breach

Data breaches are very common. A data breach is an intentional or unintentional release of private or confidential information to the dark web…

Data breaches are very common. A data breach is an intentional or unintentional release of private or confidential information to the dark web. They do happen regularly, with emails and passwords being made available for hackers to access. Why is this a problem? Well, people often reuse their passwords for various online accounts. Reusing passwords makes your accounts vulnerable for hackers to access.

How to protect yourself from a data breach
Creating a strong password – best practice for avoiding a data breach. Contact us today to ensure your online accounts are safe.

To prevent yourself from a data breach, it is best not to reuse passwords. This does sound easier said than done, but it is vital that you have a different password for all of your different accounts. You will be very thankful that you have done it. Here are all of the features that your password should contain:

  • The minimum amount of characters use should use is 6, but to make sure your password is very strong, we recommend using 12 or more characters.
  • Include a combination of uppercase and lowercase characters
  • Use at least 1 number
  • Use at least 1 special character

A tip that we have for creating a strong password is to think of a sentence that you will remember and use the first letter of each word for the password. For some of the letters, change them to a special character or number that looks like the letter itself. Also, change some of them to a number. Here is an example:

Humpty dumpty sat on the wall, humpty dumpty had a great fall

H4$OtWHDHaGf

This will help you remember the password, but also avoid having to write it down, which can also be dangerous to do.

What do I do if my online account has been released in a data breach?

The best question to ask yourself is: how did this happen? This will help you understand the purpose and ways to tackle it. Secondly, you should think why did the hacker launch the attack? Most breaches are a result of hackers trying to steal data, but it could have been caused by an employee, either by accident or maliciously.

Next, you should identify and interpret the clues by carrying out digital forensics, which means the collection and interpretation of electronic data in an attempt to preserve the evidence. Technical tools should be used and expert understanding of how to use them.

If all defences fail, every second counts. You must be quick and follow a structured approach for the recovery process. If you don’t have an IT team or Cyber Security expert on hand to do this, be sure to contact us immediately and our cyber security experts can help you save your data. You can visit our cyber security website to learn more about data breaches and other cyber security risks.

We hope this advice has helped!

Do the security settings on my home modem/router matter if I’m working from home?

Yes they do – in fact, the security settings on a home modem/routers matter whether or not you are working from home.

Most home modem/routers are provided free of charge by your internet provider. This means they are usually very basic. Furthermore, the administrative credentials for accessing them are typically not very secure – Admin/Admin is quite typical of a username and password. (NB these are not to be confused with the password that your provider provides for WIFI access). There is a huge amount of information available online about router/modem models and how to ‘hack’ them.

For this reason, you should ensure your router/modem administrative credentials are made secure. If you are working from home regularly it is worth considering upgrading to a professional-grade router for additional security.

Why Hackers Hack

Victims of hacks and attempted hacks often take it personally. Why did they come after me? I’m not famous or rich. Why did they come after my company? We’re just a small business…

Why do Hackers Hack?

Victims of hacks and attempted hacks often take it personally. Why did they come after me? I’m not famous or rich. Why did they come after my company? We’re just a small business.

That’s a perfectly natural human reaction. The fact is that cyber-attacks are rarely personal or business-specific.

Hackers are ready to exploit any security crack without taking into consideration who you are or what you do. Here are some of the things that motivate them:

Money

Cyber-attacks do not often result in immediate monetary gain. Hacks allow cybercriminals to extract information that can be exploited for financial gain. For example:

  1. Credit card information
  2. Contact information to be sold to unethical marketing lists.
  3. Username and password logins, to access and take over server resources, and to attempt dictionary attacks.
  4. Sensitive or proprietary information to sell or extort.
  5. High-security information to compromise the premises of a facility

Resources

You might think that your business is not big enough for someone to be interested in tapping into your traffic or your authority. However, cybercriminals will often attack an entire web server.  As a result, your small website might just end up being a part of a big hack.

Cudos

Some hackers break into targets just to prove they can. They also show off their craft by forcing access and stealing valuable information.

Social Justice

Hackers may pursue a religious or political agenda and use their skills to deface targets.

 

So if (when…) it happens to you, try not to take it too personally…