National Cybersecurity Awareness Month Week 2: Securing Devices at Home and Work

October 15, 2020

The second week of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month focuses on steps individuals and organizations can take to protect internet-connected devices for both personal and professional use.  Due to Covid-19, 2020 has seen a major disruption in the way we work, learn, and socialize, driving these activities online more than ever. Our homes, schools, and business are now more connected than they’ve ever been, introducing a whole new set of potential vulnerabilities to be aware of. 

The first line of defense in keeping your information safe online is the use of a password.  Following these simple password tips can help:

• Use different passwords on different systems and accounts. One of the leading causes of unauthorized access to accounts is the reuse of login credentials.
• Use the longest password allowed. The longer and more complicated a password is, the harder it will be for someone to access your accounts.
• Use a mix of uppercase and lowercase letter, numbers, and symbols. Everyone has seen that many sites require this, and it’s not there to inconvenience you, but to protect you and your data.
• Reset your password every few months. It’s good to get into the habit of resetting your passwords regularly, especially when these passwords allow access to important personal information such as bank accounts or medical data. It is also especially important given that it takes most companies an average of six and a half months to notice that a data breach has happened. By the time a data breach is reported, a bad actor could have been using and/or selling your data for a considerable amount of time.
• Use a password manager. The most secure way to store all of your unique passwords is by using a password manager. With just one master password, a computer can generate and retrieve passwords for every account that you have – protecting your online information, including credit card numbers and their three-digit Card Verification Value (CVV) codes, answers to security questions, and more.

As Dewpoint continues to support National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, checkout our many blogs about increasing your cybersecurity posture.