Top Cybersecurity Mistakes that Everyone Does !!

Cybersecurity is suddenly becoming a big matter of concern after the recent ransomware attacks but the truth is cybercriminals are living among us and using tactics to hack our data or to spy over for a long time now. As the days are passing by more number of cyber-crimes are being reported then the physical crimes. Staying unaware of how to protect yourself can lead you or your business to huge loss. Today I am sharing the top Cybersecurity mistakes people generally do that makes them vulnerable to attacks.

Thinking It won’t happen to me

Everyone is a potential target. Thinking that it won’t happen to you is one of the biggest mistake. Many people why he/she will be targeted? The answer to that is simple, for “MONEY”. Every one of us has money and that’s the primary target of most hackers. They might encrypt or lock your private data and ask for extortion money in exchange for decrypting/unlocking the data. Or they might even threaten you to publish your private data (images, videos or messages) on the internet if you don’t pay them ransom money. People with this attitude usually takes less safety measures by using simple passwords or by making banking transactions over open Wi-Fi networks.

Social Media: A new Marketplace for Cybercriminals

Social Media has become new marketplace for attackers finding their victims. People share all their personal information (hobbies, phone numbers, email ‘IDs etc) publicly making SOCIAL ENGINEERING easy for the attackers. Any attack on a specific individual will be much easier if the target has made a lot of private information publicly available on their profiles.

ADVICE:

• Don’t accept Requests from anyone unless you know them personally in real world.
• Don’t share your contact information publicly. Make it visible to no-one except you.
• Don’t share your everyday routine, and all the things you do on social media.
• Don’t click on any random links shared by your friends.

Emails: A decade old method

Sending malicious files and link over emails are decade old methods but still works perfectly fine to lure victims. Phishing over email is the most commonly used attack, although the quality of phishing emails has improved over time but it still can be recognized.

Read my article : What is phishing? And how to recognize a phishing email or sms.

Passwords: Letting the attackers in easily

Keeping common guessable passwords (your name, birthplace, birthdate, pet’s name, spouse name etc) or using same passwords across several accounts is very dangerous.

ADVICE: CREATE RANDOM PASSWORDS FROM THIS SITE AND STORE THEM IN A PASSWORD VAULT SO THAT YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER ONLY VAULT’S PASSWORD.

Updates: Ignoring them is not good

Although the constant updates irritates us, those updates should not be avoided. Whether it be applications, software or operating systems make sure to install latest updates. If we fail to update, we’re effectively leaving our software and devices vulnerable to attack, as cybercriminals look to exploit out-of-date flaws.

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Stay Secure ! Stay Happy !!