Cyber security at home and in the office: Secure your devices, computers, and networks (ITSAP.00.007)

Mobile and smart devices

Our devices are our lifelines for pretty much everything. We use them from the moment we wake up until we get into bed. Our home appliances, watches and even our home thermostats and security systems are connected to the Internet. With so much reliance on our phones, it’s no wonder that threat actors look to them as primary targets to acquire personal information to commit crimes like identity theft. Fortunately, you can prevent threat actor attempts by taking some simple steps to enhance your security.

In a world where seemingly everything contains or can be operated by a smart device, how do you know you’re keeping your personal information personal? Threat actors are able to crack these devices because they are plentiful, they are connected to the Internet, and often times, they are not as secure as they could be. Some of your devices do not have the same computing power as a desktop or laptop, and therefore are more vulnerable to threat actors. Getting familiar with your privacy settings on your devices, ensuring you use unique and complex passphrases or passwords, and using multi-factor authentication Multi-factor authenticationA tactic that can add an additional layer of security to your devices and account. Multi-factor authentication requires additional verification (like a PIN or fingerprint) to access your devices or accounts. Two-factor authentication is a type of multi-factor authentication. on your accounts are steps you can take to defend against potential cyberattacks.