Comparable to the cold war, cybersecurity has been dubbed the ‘’the arms race of the current and future generations’’. The term cybersecurity is coined by prefixing ‘’cyber’ before security. As we know, ‘’cyber’’ generally relates to information technology, computers and the internet. Hence we define cybersecurity as measures taken to protect computers, computer systems and devices against unauthorized or malicious attacks, intrusion. It is valid to say that no country, establishment or individual is absolutely invulnerable to cyber risk hence cybersecurity is a collective obligation which calls for awareness and for citizens to be internet, social media, technology savvy.

The biggest challenge with the cyberspace is that there are no international boundaries, visas are not needed to travel; intercontinental ballistic missiles or AK47’s are not needed to wipe out a facility or commit a heist. A hacker can stay in the comfort of his house or office in say, China and wreak havoc on critical infrastructures, computers or internet enabled device(s) in far-off United States. For instance, a malware or Trojan Horse known as ‘’BlackEnergy’’ allegedly written by a Russian hacker was used to infiltrate critical government infrastructures in the United States and Ukraine while ‘’Carbanak’’, an ‘’Advanced Persistent Threat’’ (APT) attack allegedly deployed via phishing emails was used to electronically steal about $1 billion from financial institutions around the world.

My previous essay – “Understanding The Global Proliferation In Cyberattacks, Cybercrime And Data Breaches’’, chronicled the dexterity of motley trends, specializations such as cyber-attacks, attacks-as-a-service, cyber-warfare, cyber-espionage, cyber-crime, Fraud-as-a-service (FaaS), cyber-extortion via ransomware, massive data breaches and hacking by state and non-state actors which validates the assertion that the aforementioned incidents are heightening. To appreciate how bad these threats are, United States government agencies struggled to rein in cyber-attacks in the US prompting President Obama’s administration to brainstorm new cybersecurity initiatives aimed at protecting consumers. This explains why some analysts dubbed 2015 as the year of cyber-attacks, data breaches. The proliferation of innovations, events such: Internet of Things (IoT), Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), insider threats (Edward Snowden), penetration and lowering cost of internet enabled mobile devices, are very strong indications that cybersecurity risks will not ebb but certainly ramp up in 2016, going forward.

Granted we may not be able to absolutely avert or rule out the risk of cyber-attacks, unintentional or deliberate data breaches but the good news is that we can reduce such risks to the barest minimum. As they say, it is better to be safe than to be sorry and prevention is better than cure. You don’t necessarily have to be a computer geek to appreciate these techie jargons or to counter aforesaid spin-off emanating from our increasingly interconnected global village - cyberspace. Without much ado, here are some cybersecurity, online best practices, and tips. In no particular order:

1. Abstain from clicking on links (especially shortened urls) in emails, on social media platforms unless you know, trust the sender and you can confirm that s/he deliberately sent the link.

2. ALWAYS download Application or software ONLY from trusted websites, sources such as from: Google Play Store, Apple App Store, and Amazon App Store.

3. As they say, there’s no free lunch eve in Freetown and if it looks too good to be true, it is most probably is. Be very mindful of online offers that seem too good to be true.

4. Only make online purchases from websites with SSL certificates (usually indicated by a small icon of a lock in the lower right-hand side of the window). Confirm order history and shipping information directly from the online retailer’s website, not through (shortened) email links.
5. Don’t use the same password for more than one website, especially for banking and email platforms.

6. Install firewalls on your systems and ensure your Operating System, Applications, anti-spyware and anti-malware software are up to date.
7. Regularly back up your important documents, application preferably on the ‘’Cloud” or an external storage device. Reformat and reinstall software on your System if you were exposed to a cyber-attack or had virus on your device.

8. ONLY give your computer, electronic device to well-trusted vendors, engineers/technicians for repairs to forestall them stealing sensitive and private information which may be used for extortion or blackmail.

9. Avoid using public computers in libraries, airports, cyber cafes, Wi-Fi for internet banking as some public computers, Wi-Fi's are vulnerable. If for any reason you patronize a public computer for online financial transaction, ensure you scan it for a keylogger, clear the cache, browsing history and delete all temporary files from the computer after usage. Very importantly, never allow the browser to remember your log-in ID and password.

10. Change your password regularly and use strong but memorable passwords: The first time you login to your internet banking account, you will need to use the password provided by the bank but you need to change this password in order to keep your account safe.

11. Check your bank accounts regularly: After making an online transaction. Ascertain that the right amount was deducted from your account. Inform your bank right away if you notice any discrepancies in the amount.

12. ALWAYS type your bank’s address into your web browser – NEVER click on a link in an email to access you online banking account. Check for a locked padlock or unbroken key symbol in your browser window when banking online. The ‘http’ at the beginning of the website address will automatically change to ‘https’ when a secure connection is established.

Written by: Don Okereke

Follow Don on Twitter: @DonOkereke


This piece was culled from: www.donokereke..com

Read full article here: http://donokereke..com.ng/2016/02/25-cybersecurity-online-safety-tips.html

Spot On!

Nice tips