CYBERSECURITY CHECKLIST

UNATTENDED COMPUTER

Leaving your computer unlocked and unattended can cause serious problems if someone else has access to it.

PHONE LOCKING

Documents, memos, email, and contacts can be stolen if you leave your phone unlocked. It is important to guard the information. Always keep your phone locked when you’re not using it.

CLEAN DESK

Maintaining a clean desk includes not leaving sensitive documents on the desk, not writing passwords on sticky notes, cleaning sensitive information off a white board, and not binning hand-written notes containing personal data.

PASSWORDS

Managing multiple passwords can be hard, but it is essential to have different passwords foreach of your account/apps/websites. Use different passwords for different accounts and don’t leave the password where it can be found. Don’t send logos and passwords by email or store them in an unsecure location.

CHOOSING GOOD PASSWORDS

Choosing a good password is necessary. Choose one that has at least 8-10 characters and at least one number, one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter, and one special symbol. Do not use any words that are in the dictionary.

BEWARE OF SOCIAL ENGINEERING

Social engineering is the use of a deception to manipulate you into divulging confidential or personal information that may be used for fraudulent purposes. This can be done using information about you that can be found online.

ANTI-MALWARE SOFTWARE

Spyware and malware are types of software that enable a hacker to obtain information from your computer by transmitting data from the computer or gaining direct access to it. Protect yourself by not clicking on links in emails, downloading unknown files, or visiting unsafe websites. We recommend installing the free version of Malwarebytes.

CEO SCAM OR BUSINESS EMAIL COMPROMISE

The CEO scam is when a hacker impersonates executives and tricks employees into sending sensitive information. This includes using social engineering to manipulate people and their actions. These often have urgent in the subject line, and ask to use alternative email addresses or phone numbers.

COMPUTER UPDATES

Keep software up to date to defend against serious issues. Viruses, spyware, and other malware rely on unpatched and outdated software.

FREE WI-FI

Do not use free wifi when handling personal data. One of the most common open WiFi attacks is called a Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attack, where a hacker can monitor all traffic and get sensitive information.