Safety First! A Cybersecurity Awareness Month PSA

Written by Harmony Wagner

I remember the day my dad brought home what my young siblings and I thought was the latest and greatest thing: a beeper. We begged him to show us how it worked and to let us call it from our landline phone. At the time, we had no idea just how quickly technology would evolve during our childhood/teenage years. Within 10-15 years, the beeper became an antique as we were introduced to personal computers, early generation iPods, and eventually the smartphones and tablets of today that make it essentially unnecessary to own a home computer, camera, GPS, or even a television. The quick rise of technology available to the average American household has transformed everyday life over the past several decades. Unfortunately, it seems that cybercrime has kept pace with rising technology, with online fraud schemes becoming more and more sophisticated each year. With October being Cybersecurity Awareness Month, it is an opportune time to discuss best practices for protecting your personal data.

The more we engage with technology, the more at risk we are for having our personal information compromised. The only way to be completely immune to cybercrime is to stay off the grid but having a plan in place can greatly reduce your chances of falling victim to a fraudster. A strong cybersecurity plan involves both preventative measures and consistent monitoring.

We’ve heard it said that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and the adage holds true when it comes to protecting your information from fraudsters. One effective way to increase security is by using two-factor authentication wherever possible. A factor is either something you know (i.e., a password or PIN), something you have (i.e., a phone or ID card), or something you are (i.e., a fingerprint or voice patterns). As the name implies, two-factor authentication (or 2FA) requires two or more of the above methods of verification before allowing access. As an example, consider an individual who accesses his portfolio data via the Schwab app on a smartphone. He can set up 2FA by requiring either a passcode (something he knows) or a biometric indicator such as FaceID (something he is) to get into his phone. By having these security layers in place, a would-be fraudster would have to not only gain access to the smartphone itself but would also need to know the passcode in order to get into the phone where personal data is available. When working with our clients, we often recommended an added layer of security via a VPN, which generates a temporary code that must be used in addition to the client’s password. Requiring multiple authentication factors is so important, especially when dealing with financial data such as account numbers and balances.

Maintaining password security is another important element of a pro-active cybersecurity plan. Using weak or easily guessable passwords or re-using the same password across many different platforms increases the likelihood of having your accounts hacked. Many people (myself included) find it difficult to remember different passwords for every account, especially today when it is not uncommon for people to have accounts set up with hundreds of different companies. Using a password manager can help you organize your passwords in a secure way. Changing your passwords periodically (every 6-12 months) will also add to your overall security.

Even the best efforts at preventing cybercrime still sometimes fall short, so monitoring the safety of your data is important. Checking your credit score once a year will help you recognize if someone has initiated financial transactions using your social security number. Google offers a password checkup program that will check saved passwords on a device to see if they have been leaked or compromised. It is also important to be aware of any data breaches at companies that you have patronized, so you can take action if you have been affected.

As inconvenient as it may seem to adhere to a strict cybersecurity program, it is far more difficult to try to unwind the damage done after your personal information has been compromised. Save yourself the time and trouble by being pro-active about protecting your data and monitoring your security on a regular basis to ensure that any data breaches are caught before significant damage is done.