Helpful Cyber Security Tips for 2018

Featured article by David Tan, Tuition Centre Singapore

There are many threats prevalent in today’s world. Cybercrime is one of the threats which acts as a ‘sweet poison’. It slowly enters into our world, pickpockets the relevant information and flies away like time. The only super-hero who can fight against this villain is Cyber Security.

The government, military, corporate, medical and financial organizations collect process and store huge amount of data on computers and other devices. According to Forbes, in a month, at least 59% of Asian organizations face a security breach. The Ministry of Communications and Information, Singapore stated that “Proportion of cybercrime to overall crime rose from 7.9% in 2014 to 13.7% in 2016.”

The rising trend in the cyber threat paves way for awareness that everyone should have.

1)     Cybersecurity Automation

Cyber attacks these days have become heavily automated. Traditional methods like anti-malware software need to be put behind in the army, giving chance to more effective and automated tool for the best defense.

Manually addressing the cyber threats is an inefficient way to fight against it. Deploying an army of equal strength will combat the incoming threats, organizations are facing. Incorporating automation into cybersecurity prepares a level field against the cyber threat. If implemented appropriately, automation can successfully prevent many cyber crimes.

Give automation the charge and the cyber threat will be discharged.

2)     Password Security is the maturity

To stay away from any infections, one should follow good cyber hygiene habits. As per the survey of Cyber Security Agency, Singapore, one in three respondents does not manage their passwords carefully and this is a reason that 2 out of 5 persons become a victim of hacking and password stealing.

Multifactor authentication should be considered. It requires additional information beyond a password to find the entry. More layers mean more protection.

Different accounts should have different passwords. Else, one password unlocked by a hacker will provide access to all your accounts. The password should be as strong as possible.

Try to use uppercase, lower case letters, numbers and symbols to make a password strong as weak passwords are the reason behind 63% security incidents in the world.

3)     Social media Post- A Virus Host?

Sharing is not always caring. You should be aware what you share on social media sites. Criminals can befriend you by creating fake profiles. Information gathered by them can be used to develop a huge phishing attack. In 2016, more than 2500 phishing URLs were detected in Singapore as per CSA survey.

Be aware of all the social media posts and the information you are giving away with it. Trust no social media friend until you know him personally.

4)     Is free Wi-Fi an advantage?

60% respondents as per the survey of CSA, Singapore claimed that they connect to free, non-password protected Wi-Fi networks in public even if they are not familiar with the networks.

Hackers give birth to the similar looking hotspot. You get tempted and connect to the Wi-Fi. Once you get logged in, your passwords and data are easily accessible by the hacker. So, a free Wi-Fi does not mean a high five. Ask the owner and confirm the Wi-Fi name.

5)     Online Shopping- Shop, but don’t lose to hackers

Just inject an important rule in your mind before you shop from your card- Never do it from a device or network that you are not familiar with. Your data and password could be copied by the criminals.

Take into consideration the following points before spending your money online:

a)     Use a safe network

b)     Choose website wisely

c)     Stronger passwords mean stronger protection

d)     Verify your transactions weekly

e)     Never save your card details in an online account.

6)     Before you Plug-in, Just Think

There is a widespread use of external hard disks, USB drives, and other cloud storage services. Surprisingly in CSA, Singapore survey, whopping 41% respondents admitted to not conducting any virus scans on these devices and files before opening them. The reason quoted by them is that its time consuming and unnecessary.

Before plugging any removable media into your device, think from where it came. Only use the trusted storage devices and make sure to run a virus test before using them.

7)     Secure mobiles before time flies

It is estimated by Cybersecurity Ventures that smartphones will account for more than 55 percent of total IP traffic in 2025. So it becomes vital to protect the mobile device you use. One of the biggest challenges is to fight with BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) trend. People bring their own devices to work and want corporate or government networks to use them.

It is important to use security applications on your mobile. Ensure your device has a pin, pattern or password before you access the emails and information on your mobile phone. Try to use 3G or 4G internet access where possible to avoid insecure Wi-Fi networks.

According to Warren Buffett, “Cyber attack is the number one problem with mankind”. So it becomes a responsibility of each and every individual to get aware of such threat. CSA, Singapore even launched its first Live Savvy with Cybersecurity campaign with a roadshow at Toa Payoh HDB Hub on 11 Feb 2017.

The ball is in your court, play wisely, prepare your defense before cyber threat knocks you down and win a game over it.

Author Bio: Dave Tan is serving Singapore’s Tuition Agency- ChampionTutor from the last 10 years and now is he the part of Tuition Centre Singapore.