Security Best Practices

Nov 16, 2018 - AlasConnect

Information and Cyber Security is not just the job of the IT Department. Just like washing your hands and covering your mouth when you cough, everyone needs to practice good “Security Hygiene.”

Social Media Safety

Social media has the power to connect people to their friends, peers and communities. However, there is a dangerous side to social media which many people do not consider when posting information online. We recommend following these simple best practices to increase your safety:

  • Treat social media as a public forum. Once you put it online, you have no real control over who sees it.
  • Use strong privacy and security settings provided on social media sites
  • Do not use the same password on your Internet accounts as you do on your corporate accounts, bank accounts or local PC
  • Only share and connect with people you know
  • Don’t click on ads or participate in surveys
  • Avoid suspicious third party apps and games
  • Don’t access personal social media sites from a business PC

If an attacker wants to target their attack, they may look at your social media accounts (e.g. LinkedIn and Facebook) to see who you work with and what your job duties and access levels are. Using this information they will craft an attack to try and trick you. A common example is targeting the CFO or Controller of a business with requests appearing to come from legitimate sources (fake invoices, fake wire requests) in order to trick them into issuing payments. Many businesses have fallen prey to this sort of confidence game.

Avoiding “Phishing” and Email Scams

  • Always be suspicious of email, if in doubt you should talk with someone over the phone or meet them in person (even inside the organization) to defeat spoofing
  • Always verify the sender is someone you actually know
  • Be on the lookout for unusual behavior or strange “speech patterns”
  • Never authorize important transactions based solely on email authorization
  • Never open an unsolicited attachment
  • Never click an unsolicited link
  • Never respond to spam email messages
  • Never send passwords, account names, confidential data or bank information by email
  • If your web browser shows a security warning, close the page

Many times attackers will use “social engineering” to attempt to gain your trust by spoofing emails from a co-worker inside the organization. They may ask you to open a PDF document, look at a funny video or send them a password. This can compromise your security and provide an avenue for attack!

Commonly scammers will use a similar domain to spoof an email. For instance, the “.co” domain is very similar to “.com”.

Passwords

  • Use longer, complex passwords and change your password often if possible
  • If you have the option to use Two Factor Authentication (2FA) enable this feature. Phone apps, authenticators or tokens are common.
  • Try to avoid using single dictionary words when crafting a password
  • Don’t re-use an old password; completely change the password to something else
  • Never share your account with anyone
  • Avoid “remember my password” options when logging into different websites, especially on shared computers

Passwords are a pain!

Everyone has too many passwords and it is almost impossible to remember them all. Avoid the temptation to write down your passwords or store them in a text file. Instead, use an encrypted password safe to store your passwords for easy and secure access. Never share your personal password safe with others and if you have the option, setup 2-Factor Authentication for your safe.

Other Good Hygiene Practices

  • Never use illegal or “cracked” copies of software
  • Be careful which wireless networks you connect to and only use trusted networks
  • Password or passcode protect your mobile device (tablet/phone) and enable encryption
  • Lock your workstation when you walk away
  • Only connect to the Internet from behind a trusted firewall
  • Keep printed confidential information out of sight (clean desk) or in a locked cabinet

Remember, victims of a crime (including cyber crime) should be helped to recover and never blamed. Don’t be afraid to report security problems and make sure you have allies to help you!

AlasConnect is a technology consulting company focusing on businesses in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. If you are concerned about the security of your IT systems or have questions about compliance, please contact us for an assessment of your IT structure. We offer an array of tailored services to help take the complexity out of scaling up.