Tag Archive for: Habits

6 internet habits that can compromise your cybersecurity – The European Sting – Critical News & Insights on European Politics, Economy, Foreign Affairs, Business & Technology


(Credit: unsplash)

This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum.

Author: Check Point


  • The internet has become an essential part of our lives, but it also comes with risks.
  • We need to be aware of the bad habits that we continue to maintain and that can affect our digital security.
  • These include using weak passwords, clicking on links in emails from unknown senders, and not keeping our software up to date.
  • By being more careful online, we can help to protect ourselves from cybercrime.

Nowadays we cannot live without the Internet, a basic resource among the new generations. Remember looking for information in an encyclopedia or going to a travel agency to buy a plane ticket or make a hotel reservation? It seems like ages ago, but the truth is that the network of networks has changed the way we do many tasks and has opened the doors to new possibilities that allow us, for example, to work from anywhere or make a bank transfer from our phone in just one click.

Unfortunately, this relentless evolution is also present in the multiple threats posed by cybercriminals. We have moved on from viruses distributed on floppy disks and Morris, the first worm to infect the Internet in 1988, to the emergence of Trojans, spyware and ransomware, the main protagonists of today’s cybercrime scene. According to the Security Report 2023 from Check Point® Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP), a leading global cyber security specialist provider, cyberattacks have increased by 38% in 2022 compared to the previous year, with an average of 1,168 attacks per week per organization and a situation that looks set to continue to worsen over the coming years.

Discover

What is the World Economic Forum doing on cybersecurity?

The World Economic Forum Centre for Cybersecurity drives global action to address systemic cybersecurity challenges. It is an independent and impartial platform fostering collaboration on cybersecurity in the public and private sectors. Here are some examples of the impact delivered by the centre:

Cybersecurity training: Salesforce, Fortinet, and the Global Cyber Alliance, in collaboration…

Source…

Security Think Tank: In 2023, we need a new way to cultivate better habits


How are those New Year’s resolutions working out for you? With 2023 now well underway, many of your best intentions for the year may have already been adjusted, deferred or abandoned entirely. You’re only human, after all.

It’s often the same with employee cyber security training. At many organisations, staff are required to complete a training course once or twice a year. The content is typically very corporate, and the narration is relatively generic. These sessions will typically cover a lot of ground in a short period, explaining common cyber security risks, presenting corporate policies and highlighting best practices for keeping data and systems safe.

If the session is well-designed, if it’s delivered engagingly, and if employees give it their full attention — and that’s a lot of ‘ifs’ already — then participants may leave with the best of intentions to put their new-found knowledge to use. But soon, the pressures of working life or good old-fashioned forgetfulness kick in, scuppering their resolve. They quickly slip into the same old bad habits, paying less attention as they work fast, trying to do three things at once, consequently becoming more susceptible to social engineering attempts.

That’s why I think that, in 2023, we need to go much further than just periodic online cyber security training if we are going to help our workforce get out in front of the bad guys. We need a newer, better approach.

Atomic habits

With this in mind, I recently revisited Atomic Habits by James Clear, a number one New York Times bestseller with 10 million copies sold worldwide. In his book, the author argues that real transformation comes from the compound effect of making regular small changes to behaviour. He calls these ‘atomic habits’.

As a CISO, I see how this approach could work well with corporate cyber security. Of course, periodic training sessions may still have their place, but a culture of cyber awareness can only flourish when employees are encouraged to keep on track and adhere to best practices through regular, timely nudges in the right direction.

So what might this look like? For me, it’s about embedding security reminders, alerts and…

Source…

Practise good cyber hygiene habits to thwart hackers, scammers and other malicious parties


In 2013, World Password Day was introduced by Intel to raise awareness on the role strong passwords play in safeguarding our digital lives.

The event, which falls on every first Thursday in May, invites users to evaluate their own security measures and take the necessary steps to protect their accounts.

Simply using lengthier passwords consisting of unique characters is no longer sufficient today as users are advised to turn on multi-factor authentication for better protection.

Experts also urge users not to recycle passwords as they may have been inadvertently exposed in data breaches, and to utilise other security measures such as biometrics authentication using fingerprints or facial recognition wherever possible.

Here are some recent cybersecurity incidents involving bad password habits to convince you to make the change.

As easy as 123

First reported in 2020, the SolarWinds hack has been described as one of the most devastating security breaches in US history.

According to a Reuters report, hackers breached SolarWinds’ software and could have gained access to an estimated 18,000 companies and multiple US government agencies that used its products. These included emails at the US Treasury, Justice and Commerce departments, among others. A subsequent investigative report published by the company claimed that fewer than 100 customers were actually affected by the hack.

Investigations into the cause of the hack led to the initial discovery that SolarWinds had suffered a lapse in password security back in 2019, when an intern allegedly posted the password “solarwinds123” onto their private Github account.

The researcher who found the leaked password, Vinoth Kumar, told CNN that the password had been accessible online since 2018 and that by using the password, he was able to log in and deposit files onto the company’s server.

He warned that any hacker could upload malicious programs to SolarWinds using the tactic.

SolarWinds CEO Sudhakar Ramakrishna later admitted that the password had been in use from as far back as 2017 and that he had taken measures to fix the issue.

The…

Source…