We’re all increasingly aware of how reliant we’ve become on our technology, so when it lets us down, our lives can grind to a halt, or feel like they have. Sometimes ‘outages’ are caused with malicious intent, like the big ransomware attacks we’ve seen in recent years, but sometimes they’re unintentional, like the CrowdStrike issue in July 2024 (a botched software update from the cybersecurity giant crashed some 8.5 million computers worldwide, grounding planes, cancelling operations and stopping online payments for many).
Whatever the cause, there are many things that you can do both to help prevent yourself from being affected and to be ready to recover quickly if you are. Here are our top tips.
Tip 1 – Remember that you are a target for hackers
Whoever you are, whether the CEO of some international corporation or just a private individual, you will be a target for hackers so that has to be everyone’s starting point. Yes, if you’re just a private individual, you are less likely to be the victim of a targeted scam but many hackers will just fire out emails at random to see who bites; these have become so sophisticated today that they are very easy to fall for.
So be vigilant; if something doesn’t look right, be very cautious of it and find an offline way to check it. Be careful what you click on online and educate yourself on the various scams that hackers are using.
Be mindful of what harm an unscrupulous hacker could do if they got hold of your bank or credit card details, for example.
Tip 2 - Back up regularly
How disappointed would you be if you lost all the digital photos you’ve ever taken? Or, as a business, if you lost all your customer data? Whether because of a fire, a theft or a hack, loosing data that we’ve saved can be anything from just upsetting to seriously business-ending. Backing up what you have means you can pick up where you left off, more or less immediately. And don’t just think about copying files, think about what system information and programmes you might need to reinstall if you need to set up a completely new machine.
Two particular things to think about are how often to back up and where you back up to. In terms of how often, think about how frequently you save new data; for an individual, once a month may be enough but for a business you might need consider backing up every day. You have a number of options in terms of where you back up to: the cloud, an internal back up (such as an external hard drive or USB) or externally (a hard drive or USB that you physically store away from your premises).
Check out the section on backing up in our IT tips for small businesses blog for the pros and cons of each of these (insert link).
Tip 3 – Protect yourself from malware and viruses
Malicious software (known as 'malware') is software or web content that can harm your computer or your business. The most common form of malware are viruses, self-replicating programs sent out to infect legitimate software. Installing some additional security software can help protect you; it’s worth subscribing to one that does regular updates to ensure you have the most up-to-date protection possible.
There are other ways you can protect yourself, too. Never click on email or text attachments that are unsolicited or don’t feel right; this could be a type of hack called ‘phishing’. Keep all your IT equipment, software, browsers and plug-ins up-to-date; older or out-of-date items can have vulnerabilities. Check that any apps you download are genuine. If you’re a business, think about switching on a firewall and limiting how USBs can be used.
Tip 4 – Use mobile devices with care
Where would be today without being able to share on the move? Many of our mobile devices, including our ‘phones, are as powerful as a desktop but they need extra protection because we take them out and about with us.
As with the tips above, installing additional security software, keeping them up-to-date and backing them up are critical. In addition, think about some extra precautions. Switch on password protection. Think about how you could track and lock (or wipe) your devise if it’s lost or stolen. And think carefully before connecting to Wi-Fi hotspots; they may not be very secure, making you vulnerable to hacking.
Tip 5 – Be password savvy
Almost everything we do online today requires us to login to something, meaning we are constantly having to think up and remember strong passwords. It’s tempting, therefore, to use some shortcuts, like using the same password for multiple accounts, using easily memorable phrases (like the dog’s name or your birthday) or actually writing them down somewhere. Unfortunately, all of these make us vulnerable if we are hacked.
There are few things that you can (easily) do to help you cope with ‘password overload’ but still stay secure. Avoid using predictable phrases; three random words could be more memorable instead. Set up two-step verification on all really important (and probably money-related) accounts. Use a password manager to help generate and remember your passwords, rather than write them down. (LastPass is a popular choice but this article from UK Cybernews reviews some current password managers if you want to find out more). Never reuse the same password for more than one account, even if you think it’s harmless to do so.
And finally…
This might all sound scary and difficult but compare the minor inconvenience of having a few additional security steps with the major ‘inconvenience’ of having your bank account hacked (for example) and hopefully that puts it in perspective. The best piece of advice is to stay vigilant; if you weren’t expecting something or it doesn’t seem quite right, treat with extreme caution.
Further advice
You can find further advice on IT security for small businesses from the National Cyber Security Council here.
And access their training and resources...
For individuals, the advice from the University of California is also pretty good (although admittedly aimed primarily at their own students), here.
If you’d rather chat through your IT security, please do get in touch with us.
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