It seems that every year, there are increased acts of cybercrime taking place on both individuals and businesses. The complexity of cyber attacks and the methods used by cybercriminals get more advanced each day, and there is a perpetual race on behalf of software firms and companies to keep up with new and emerging forms of cybercrime. It is estimated that there is an attack by hackers every 39 seconds, which is a truly frightening statistic when you consider the cost and disruption that a successful attack can cause. In 2022, it is more important than ever to be aware of the forms of cybercrime that can take place and how to protect yourself or your business against them. This article explains three distinct ways in which you can protect yourself when online.
When Trading or Purchasing
Millions of people shop online regularly for a wide range of goods and at several different online sites. An increasing number of investors are now also taking the step to trading online on platforms, such as OKX, where a range of cryptocurrencies can be bought and sold. It is important to consider that, when making trades online or purchasing goods, you always use a secure network. It can be highly tempting to sit in a coffee shop and use the free unsecured Wi-Fi to check the value of your stocks, shares, and digital assets or make a quick online purchase, but this is an inherently risky activity. Unsecured public Wi-Fi networks can present an easy route for hackers, who can then view your sensitive personal and financial information when you are online. As a rule, avoid all unsecured networks when undertaking trading or purchasing online.
Use Two-Step Authentication
Two-step authentication is a method of giving an increased layer of security when logging on to sites or applications. It works by adding an extra stage of user verification in addition to login and password details. When a user has logged into the account, they will be asked to either provide fingerprint recognition or will receive a text, email, or call to another device or email account. By entering the one-time access code provided on the site, the verification is completed, and the user can gain access to the site. Two-step authentication is shown to be a valuable method of reducing the risk of account hijacking and as such should be enabled on any service that has this feature.
Create Strong and Unique Passwords
Even as hackers and cyber criminals become more proficient, there are still millions of online users who create weak passwords that can be easily hacked. This is because short or personal passwords are easy to remember by the user. It is an exceptionally dangerous practice to create weak passwords and there are a variety of ways to change this without needing to memorize ultra-complicated login details. Firstly, a user can create a strong password simply by combining three memorable short words. These passwords are considered much harder to crack and are much easier to remember. In addition to this method, many modern browsers allow strong passwords to be stored securely on systems. This allows the creation of extraordinarily complex passwords without the need to remember them.
