Cyber HYGIENE during the 'New Normal'

Cyber HYGIENE during the 'New Normal'

Home routers should be secured by enabling automatic update for the router firmware as well as using a router strong password/passphrase. Employ a mixture of special characters and alphanumeric numbers that is easily memorisable for yourself but hard to guess for others.

Your personal financial information (PII, PHI, financial, etc.) should only be communicated through secure online platforms (HTTPS). Look out for the “padlock” icon in the browser’s address bar to verify that the domain is protected before entering your credentials.

Get information and advisories only from trusted and official sources. There has been a rise in malicious COVID-19 domains tricking users to download malware disguised as attachments containing important information on COVID-19.

Identify sensitive data and perform backups on such data. Refer to your company’s data classification, backup and retention policies for the types of data to store as well as authorised and approved media that can be used for backups.

Enable your antivirus programme and keep software/applications updated, especially when the device is used to perform online shopping. This reduces risks of malware from infecting your devices, which can cause irreversible damage to your systems and files. 

Notify the cybersecurity team if you received suspicious emails asking for confidential company and personal information. Scrutinise and validate the sender’s details through other ways (e.g. calling them) before providing any confidential information. 

Exercise care when using teleconferencing platforms for meetings and remote working. The surge in usage has enticed more cyber criminals to target them for profits. Enable security features (password protection) where available, to protect yourself and other attendees.