Hackers, Scammers, and Phishing, Oh My! Our staff tips for protecting your data

Security practices have never been more important. If your team is anything like ours, the majority of your employees are probably working remotely. All of your communication may be happening on the phone, in a video call, or over email and a security issue could create a major headache for remote work. Our tips will help you protect your organization from a number of security problems, so let’s dive in!

1. Protect your passwords. Your passwords are the key to your entire operation, and you need to treat them as such. An easily guessable password could give bad actors access to your email account, your entire network, your location, and more. Make sure you’re following these guidelines:

• When making a new password, make sure it’s 12+ characters, made up of phrases, and contains numbers, symbols, and capital and lowercase letters.
• Use a password manager to keep track of all passwords and ensure that you do not write them down in insecure places. Our staff picks include KeePass, LastPass, and StickyPasswords.
• Do not use duplicate passwords. If you’re having trouble coming up with unique passwords, you can use a password generator.
• Do not share company passwords.

2. Go further than password protection, use multi-factor authentication (MFA). MFA requires your username, password, and a third factor like a security question or a one-time code that is sent to your phone or email to log in. Wherever a website offers this, use it.

3. Ensure that your email service is encrypted. Encryption creates a secure layer of protection between your emails and bad actors on the internet by translating your emails into a secret code before they are sent, and translating them back into clear text once they get to the recipient.

4. When you are in an insecure location, use a Virtual Private Network (VPN). A VPN provides a safe way to connect to a secure network from an insecure location, like a hotel room or a coffee shop.

5. Watch out for phishing. Actors may use phishing messages over text, phone, or email to manipulate you and get access to your information. Messages like this pretend to be from a trustworthy source and guide the recipient into taking some action that gives the hacker access to their information. Make sure you don’t click on any links or attachments in emails where something seems off, like an unusual email address for someone you know, an urgent message that requires your personal information, or many spelling and grammar mistakes.

If you’ve already incorporated these security measures into your workplace, awesome! You’re taking the right steps to protect your organization’s security. If you’re ready to take the next step and discuss a Well-Architected Review, a backup, or other security measures, we can walk you through your options. Contact Ryan Kennedy at rkennedy@jetsweep.co to schedule a call today!