With online activity on the increase from managing your banking accounts to shopping online, your data is stored on servers around the world and are prime targets for cyber criminals. Sometimes by the time you’ve found out that you’ve been compromised it maybe too late.
Find out if you have been affected by confirming with the company involved.
Us users get emails all the time from websites saying that it’s noticed an unusual login attempt or password reset request, but because they have become a part of day to day life you may ignore the email alerts that count. With Facebook if you log into your account from an unrecognised device you will almost instantly receive an email saying that your account has just been logged in from a device which isn’t familiar with previous logins. But if you’re a public computer user and you get these emails all the time it’s important to check and verify every email and not to brush it off as your own doing. If you notice something suspicious in the way your account looks it’s best to verify with the company itself – eg. Your bank, work place, your email provider and so on. It is important to not ignore any suspicions as most cyber criminals operate in a stealthy manner as not to alert the user itself – so if you’re, for example, email account has been breached they wouldn’t go and delete your whole inbox but instead may sell your credentials to 3rd parties.
Change your passwords
As a rule of thumb you should always change your passwords every 6 months at the very least – especially if you are guilty of using the same password for multiple accounts! By changing passwords we don’t mean adding a number at the end of the current password. Cyber criminals have the reputation for being digitally smart for a reason and if you leave your guard down they can attack you without you even knowing about it, until it is too late. If you’ve been breached a password change for ALL accounts is a must. Why? Studies show that people tend to use the same usernames and email addresses to register for online website/apps. From a cyber criminals’ point of view, if they successfully hack into one of your accounts using your email address, chance are they could use that email address to access other websites and even force a password reset.
Two-factor authentication
In 2018, having a simple email address/username and password isn’t enough, you need to think outside the box and do as much as you can to secure yourself online even though it means the login process involves a few more steps than before. Two-factor authentication is when you login using your regular means with the addition of another verification method, usually via mobile phone or email. Codes are usually sent to these destinations in order for the user to enter it as they are logging in.
Watch out for the aftermath
So you’ve been breached, what happens next? The majority of phishing scams aims to steal your data and forward the phishing email to all of your contacts. You need to watch out for unusual behaviour from your accounts and be cautious about the goings on of the hacked account. For example, if your online bank account has been breached watch out for signs of money transfer requests or card resend requests. It’s always good to ask friends and colleagues if they’ve noticed unusual behaviour from you – tell them to check their spam folders for any emails originating from you.
Consider increasing your security
From a B2B point of view, you can rely on IntelliTeK to have IT security options for any business. If you’re looking to change IT provider because of a previous data breach, we have the solutions for you. Sometimes it’s not about purchasing the most expensive IT security package but more about how efficiently it is managed. Office networks are generally pretty secure but from experience we see breaches occurring when employees open personal accounts from within a office network – be it an online account or even inserting an infected USB into a computer. If you find yourself or organisation falling victim to the same type of breaches then it is definitely time to take a look at how IntelliTeK have served clients for years without falling victim to external data breaches.
About IntelliTeK Pty Ltd
IntelliTeK is a managed IT services company in Sydney, Australia. With major vendor relationships and accreditations from the world’s leading IT companies including WatchGuard, Microsoft, Trend Micro and Amazon Web Services, IntelliTeK have kept clients happy since 2007.
IntelliTeK are always up to date with the latest cloud backup solutions which is why we only partner with the best in the industry. If your company isn’t fully equipped to fend off cyber criminals, then get in touch with us so we can discuss your options. Call us on 1300 768 779, email us at info@intellitek.com.au, fill out the web form, or have a Live Chat with us below.