As the time we’re spending online increases, so do the security risks. CERT NZ’s latest data shows that online security incident reports are up 48% from this time last year. These incidents are impacting our finances, our friends, family and workplaces.
For more information on common threats check out this link from CERTNZ Common threats | CERT NZ
Here at Unitec the Information Technology team are working hard behind the scenes on a programme of work to ensure our systems and information are secure from cyber threats amid the evolving, ever increasing threats.
We are conscious most of us have personal online profiles and accounts and it’s important that you are aware of how you can protect yourself, whānau and friends outside of work.
CERT NZ’s Cyber Smart Week is back with some simple steps to help you take your online security to the NEXT LEVEL.
With these steps in place, the risk of experiencing an incident is lower, and if you are impacted, having these steps in place will help reduce the impact.
Long, strong and unique passwords are harder to crack
Up your online security game with long, strong and unique passwords for each account – 15 characters or more is key!
It can be tricky coming up with strong passwords, so try making passphrases instead – a random phrase of four or more words. They’re easy to remember but hard for attackers to crack. For example, BeastModeNowActivated.
Power up by turning on two-factor authentication
Keep attackers out of your online accounts with a second layer of defence.
Double down and protect your online accounts from attacks with two-factor authentication (2FA). It’s like a secret key for your online accounts that’s used on top of your password.
It’s usually a unique code sent to your phone or taken from an app that only you have access to. Having 2FA turned on means even if an attacker gets your login details, they still won’t get in. For more information check out this link from CERTNZ Turn on two-factor authentication.
Boost your privacy defence
Switch social media settings to private to protect your personal info.
Your personal information is gold for attackers. Make sure your social media privacy settings are switched over to ‘Private’ or ‘Friends only’ – this way, you can control who sees what information you share and who you’re sharing it with. This not only protects yourself, but also your friends, family and followers from scams. – For more information check out this link from CERTNZ Protect your privacy
Update to full strength
Activate auto updates on apps and devices to dodge security weaknesses.
Updates help keep your apps and devices healthy. Updates aren’t just about getting the latest features available on apps and devices, they also protect you from any weaknesses that could let attackers in. The easiest way to do this is by going to settings and turning on automatic updates – then you just let it do its thing.