As our lives become increasingly digital, it becomes more and more important to make sure we are taking care of our security. There are so many security threats out there to be aware of, and many of them are things that most people don’t know about until it is too late and they have become a victim or a target themselves. If you are keen to make sure that you are looking after yourself as well as possible, then you need to be aware of these security threats. In this article, we’ll look through some of them, so that you can at least protect yourself against these common threats.
Ransomware
This is a particular threat to anyone running an organization, which these days is a lot of people indeed. If you have a business, then you are going to have to be aware of the threat of ransomware and ensure that you are protecting against it as well as possible. With ransomware, software is installed onto your system by a third party, who then flash a message demanding money for the removal of the blockage. Often they will claim to have taken sensitive data files, including customer’s data – and they might have, or it might just be a tactic. You can avoid most ransomware attacks by properly configuring your Firewall.
Identity Theft
While the above is a concern for businesses, this next one is something that could happen to literally anyone, and so you need to make sure that you are aware of it as it might happen to you one day. With identity theft, a stranger steals your identity through some kind of information about you, whether a passport or bank details, and thereby generates their own identity documents in your name, which can then be used for all sorts of nefarious purposes. The best protection against identity theft is LifeLock, and you can get a discount for that if you are in need of it.
Phishing
Part of identity theft is that they need personal information of yours. One way that they might do that is through something known as phishing, which is also a technique that can be used for many other purposes too. Phishing is where someone tries to get your information, often by directing you to a website which masquerades as an official company site like a bank’s, and asking you to put in sensitive information. Ensure you have a strong spam filter to avoid these, and be careful about any links you follow from any emails. If in doubt, call the company in question to check, or go to their website without following the link.
IoT
The ever-expanding Internet of Things (toothbrushes, Google Home, etc) is also an ever-increasing threat in the home, especially if you care about your own privacy. Such listening devices are best avoided if you take your security seriously, and it looks as if this is going to become more and more of an issue in the years to come.