Safety first

Cyber security needs to be taken as seriously as you take your, your family and friends’ safety.

Just like you message someone to find out if they are home safe, you need to start checking that the people around you are not using compromised passwords, have different passwords for each account and that they have a multi-layered security system in place.

It is becoming more and more dangerous in this cyberworld to not have any structures in place to fight back against a cybercriminal.

Organisations are losing thousands and individuals are even losing their life savings.

Hackers are working harder and smarter, it is up to you to make sure you are doing all you can to prevent yourself falling victim.

The first way to ensure that you are doing your best to stay cyber safe is by being aware. Being aware of what you download, what you click on and what you are sending out.

I have spoken often about Human Error, why? because it’s still such a huge problem.

Human Error is one of the main causes for breaches and it also happens to be the most avoidable.

Educate yourself, co-workers, friends and family about the dangers that come along with mindlessly using the internet and not thinking before you do something.

The second way is making sure your work has the best cyber security partner like J2 Software, to make sure your environment is constantly monitored and checked for vulnerabilities.

Once vulnerabilities are identified, security measures are put in place and updated as needed to keep the organisation secure.

Make sure your company is doing Awareness Training because no matter how many security measures you have in place, an employee sending confidential information to the wrong recipient or falling for a social engineering scam will cause a breach.

The third way is to align your work and home security to make sure that you are following all the procedures and best practices in both your work and personal life.

Think about this, you strap yourself in before you start to drive, not because you plan to crash but in case of a crash you know you are safe.

That is the same with your cyber security, get protected before you are breached, it is better to know you are safe rather than wishing you had been.

Don’t wait, it’s just not worth it.

Let’s get real.

Olivia-Hannah Coetzee