Ignorance is bliss? Not when it comes to Cyber Security

Why are Millennials at a higher risk of falling victim to a cyber attack? The answer to this is simple, they make themselves easy pickings for cyber criminals.

How can a generation born into a world of all things cyber be such a cyber hazard? Millennials may be more knowledgeable when it comes to all things tech and how the internet works, but that doesn’t mean they are necessarily conscious of the risk this involves and the dark(web) side.

Various researchers have found that they worry less about being the target of a hack or a breach therefore not taking any measures to prevent attacks which can even lead to their respective place of work open to critical data being breached due to lack of care.

This lack of care may stem from the idea that one is untouchable and that it won’t happen to them or it won’t happen to them because they think they don’t have “top secret government type information” in their email so they are simply not a target.

WRONG! Your personal information IS important.  We have been lulled into a false sense of security that hacking and breaches only happen to the most elite, when there is a lot at stake. Your information could lead them to your bank details, your address to name only a few things that a cyber criminal could come across in your seemingly “boring” inbox.

“Do you have WiFi?” The question a public space hears probably a 1000 times a day.  Have you ever thought that putting in all your details to gain access to an unsecure spot could open up your device to hackers on the network that could access your information? Most answers, who cares we getting free Wi-Fi! Be so careful when using these “free” WiFi spots or even a friend of a friend’s network that you met once at that one place that one time. Cyber criminals are everywhere.

Not only is not being cyber smart dangerous for you but your workplace too. Without taking any preventative measures if you download anything from a site, click a link or put in an infected USB, it can spread like wildfire and it would be too late.

Don’t allow yourself to think it won’t happen to you otherwise you could indirectly cause a cyber attack in your environment.  There needs to be a shift in idea that all the creators of apps, games and websites put proper precautions in place, because that’s impossible. The cloud also has its downfalls and its security measures aren’t foolproof. You need to have additional cloud-based security in place and other critical cyber solutions.

You need to change this mindset and create a personal and working space that isn’t such an easy target. Start conversations at home, at your workplace, with friends, because being aware can stop breaches from happening and curb the major amounts of data loss that come with it.

After all, millennials are the future quite literally! Let’s start conversations and #letsgetreal!

Image reference – www.Business2community.com

Olivia Hannah Coetzee