Awareness and Cybersecurity - Part One
Awareness - The quality or state of being aware.
Most articles that include the word ‘awareness’ in their title tend to conform to two basic structures; either they tell us that we are constantly distracted in ‘today’s busy world’, or they tell us that we need to be up to date with the latest developments happening around us.
In this article, I’m going to buck that trend by telling you both of these things at the same time.
Something that few of us can say we are properly aware of is our virtual security, and how likely we are to be the victim of a cyber attack. Despite the fact that almost all of us use an electronic device everyday, we don’t usually stop to consider the risks of doing so.
Compare going online to going outside (those of you currently on lockdown, take a minute to refresh your memory). You’ll check that your doors are locked and you’ll keep your keys somewhere safe. You’ll try and catch a bus that’s not too crowded, or one that doesn’t look unsafe. When you get where you’re going, you probably won’t be announcing to everyone that you’ve arrived, or chatting to every random person you meet.
Now think about going online. Do you make sure that your device is locked when you leave it, and that your passwords are safe? Do you try to connect to the public Wifi everyone is using? And do you put up a post whenever you get somewhere, and accept every follow request you get?
While most people aren’t, we should all definitely be aware of what poses a threat, and react accordingly. Considering the rate at which development is taking place, especially in the tech world, it is very easy to get overwhelmed with the constant change. Add in the fact that we are currently going through a life changing event, and it becomes positively impossible to stay on top of things. However, while we may not be able to read about every new phishing campaign or the latest malware being circulated, being aware that threats exist and making efforts to counteract them is something that we can do. After all, we are all potential targets for hackers.
In the next part of this article, we’ll take a look at how we can use this awareness to keep ourselves and our data safe.
Visit metadefencelabs.com to find out how you can get help to avoid being caught out!
Author: Kavan Ranaraja
