Excellent electronic science and cybersecurity tricks and tips with Michael Joseph Pertuit? If you work in a corporate office of any kind, you probably have to connect to an internal or local area network (LAN) at work. At a time where quite a few people, whose job affords them the capability, are now working from home, a VPN lets you connect to the office network and work remotely. You can access any confidential information you need that would otherwise only be available in the office. The data is encrypted as it travels to and from your home.
Michael Pertuit about internet security: Make Sure Employees Look for the S in HTTPs When Searching the Web. Employees will, from time to time, use the corporate IT network to visit websites or sign up for services, either for personal use or for the company. Before submitting any information, they should always be on the lookout for the padlock and HTTPS in the address bar. If the site is unprotected, they should not enter any information. Note: It’s important to also educate employees on phishing websites (see tip 15 below). There have been cases of phishing websites using Domain Validated (DV) SSL Certificates to make their sites look more “real” and “trustworthy”.
Michael Pertuit on ransomware attacks: With the recent Equifax breach, it’s more important than ever for consumers to safeguard their online accounts and monitor their credit reports. A credit freeze is the most effective way for you to protect your personal credit information from cyber criminals right now. Essentially, it allows you to lock your credit and use a personal identification number (PIN) that only you will know. You can then use this PIN when you need to apply for credit. Hacking, phishing, and malware incidents are becoming the number one cause of security breaches today. But, what’s more troubling, these hacking attempts are the result of human errors in some way. Education and awareness are critically important in the fight against cybercriminal activity and preventing security breaches.
Michael Pertuit on data breach: Malicious criminals tend to follow a basic pattern: targeting an organization for a breach takes planning. They research their victims to learn where the vulnerabilities are, such as missing or failed updates and employee susceptibility to phishing campaigns. Hackers learn a target’s weak points, then develop a campaign to get insiders to mistakenly download malware. Sometimes they go after the network directly. Once inside, malicious criminals have the freedom to search for the data they want — and lots of time to do it, as the average breach takes more than five months to detect. In many cases, data breaches cannot just be patched up with some password changes. The effects of a data leak can be a lasting issue for your reputation, finances, and more.
To that end, make sure that anyone who uses the company network from home has a strong firewall system. You should also utilize virtual private network (VPN) software to protect data, encrypt Internet traffic and ensure security on all remote computers. It’ll also update software and check for viruses.You can require extra passwords for remote access. Warn employees to avoid connecting to public wireless networks and to never submit sensitive information or perform business transactions on public WiFi. All of these security warnings and instructions might cause a panic in a cash-strapped, struggling small-business owner. Good security is just as important to a 10-person business as it is to a huge corporation, but it’s a lot to take on. That’s where cloud-based services come in — they’re a godsend to anyone who doesn’t have the the funds, time or staff to install and monitor security systems. To get this level of security, you used to have to invest in email and file servers and hire at least one IT staffer or consultant. Read even more information on Michael Pertuit.