Volunteer's Blog

Cybersecurity Tips For Remote Working & Learning During COVID 19

Imagine waking up one day to find out that your phone has been hacked. Your files have gone missing, your bank accounts have been hacked, and sensitive information is on the loose. Although this may appear to be a rare occurrence, it is becoming more common in this day and age.

Cybersecurity is essential as more employees and students who are working remotely as a result of the COVID-19.

Teleworking and distance learning comes with the added responsibility of taking the appropriate steps to protect your data while being connected online. Keep these tips in mind:

Think before youclick

Before you click, consider what you are doing. Even if it appears to be from a family member or friend, do not open a random attachment they sent to you.

Use Strong Passwords & Password Management Tools

Use a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbolic letters. Keep the length of your password above 7 letters is a must these days. Use password management tools if you are likely to forget your password easily. And do not forget to change your passwords regularly, if you feel the need to.

Keep Your Software Up to Date

This is of course obvious, when your software is up to date, security issues are fixed, security loopholes are fixed, bug fixes are applied, and so on. So, always remember to check for an update and apply the update whenever possible.

Use Two-Factor or Multi-Factor Authentication

It is important to have a strong password, but it is even more imperative to have two-factor, or multi-factor, authentication. This method provides two layers of security. More security layers, the harder it is to hack into your system.

Use a multi factor authentication tool like Google Authenticator if you’re sure enough to be able to keep your phone close to you all the time and safe. Because once someone else has access to your Google Authenticator it can be dangerous as well, because they can get to anywhere of your apps easily.

Learn about Phishing Scams – be very suspicious of emails, phone calls, and flyers
Never reply to suspicious emails, SMS, or anything that’s suspicious. You can directly erase everything suspicious, like asking for a password, your birthday, OTP ( one-time password), or anything from asking to send sim card credit, pressing something on your phone, just directly ignore and erase everything like these from your phone.

Sometimes, it can be in the form of phone calls as well, like the scammer tries to phone you and ask to transfer some amount of money to get some prize. Just close the phone and immediately block the caller.

Use Your Mobile Devices Securely

Use strong passwords and biometric features, like finger print and face detection. Ensure you turn off your Bluetooth if you do not need it . Do not automatically connect to any public Wi-Fi, and download with caution.

Backup Your Data

As always, nothing can beat backuping your data before it is lost. Always regularly backup your data to cloud or other storage.

Maintain Secure Virtual Meeting

Maybe we all know with virtual meetings for doing almost everything in our life, from online class to hangout with our folks. That is why we need to do a secure virtual meeting

• Don not share passwords or anything important in the chat box.
• Share only the window you need to be shared with others. Do not just share all of your screen, since there is maybe your personal information.
• Mute or turn off your video when not needed.