It’s Trick or Treat Time

Trick or treat is used by children around the world every Halloween. Cybersecurity Awareness Month gives this popular phrase a whole new meaning for adults. With cybercrime at an all-time high, it’s important to keep an eye out for Halloween-themed cyber-crime attacks. AKA creepy cybercriminals in costumes pretending to be someone they’re not.

As National Cybersecurity Awareness Month ends on Halloween, it presents the perfect time to remember some safety tips to keep the monsters, zombies, and skeletons away from your network. 

Don’t Click Links from Strangers

While we’re taught to never take candy from strangers (aside from Halloween), opening links from unknown sources can be just as dangerous.

CREEP IT REAL – Double-check email addresses or links for suspicious characters or misspellings. Hover over links and inspect the text before clicking through!

DON’T BELIEVE YOUR EYES – If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Remember to CREEP IT REAL when opening any coupon codes or giveaway emails.

The do’s and don’ts of proper cybersecurity training:

✔ DO extend training to everyone in your organization – not just leaders or IT staff.
❌ DON’T default to videos and classroom-style sessions that aren’t engaging.
✔ DO experiment with simulated email attacks, drills and tests.
❌ DON’T attempt to teach everything in one session.
✔ DO prioritize topics like password security, threat response and device security in separate sessions.
❌ DON’T assume one session is enough. Training should be ongoing!

Protect Your Candy With a Strong Password

As protecting your candy from the hands of an older sibling or parents is crucial on Halloween night, so is creating a strong, secure password.

To ensure your data is kept safe, remember the three random words rule to help easily create complex passwords. Keep passwords in a safe, secret place, like a password manager, to make the process less daunting. 

Chase Away Lurking Monsters

While in the real world, most of the monsters are gone once Halloween is over, online monsters can infiltrate your computer for months unnoticed.

Using a public Wi-Fi network at a restaurant, coffee shop or business can leave you vulnerable and invite monsters into your device.

Don’t Leave a Candy Trail

For many social networks, like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat and more, location services are part of the package with using the app.

With more GPS-enabled devices being used each day, your location information can give cyber criminals data on when you’re away and where you’re going, giving them a window to hack your personal information.

Reduce Cyber Crime Threats by 85%

During Cybersecurity Awareness Month, discussion turns to the most cutting edge tools, tactics and response strategies (as they should). But this month should also be the reminder to implement and practice the most basic of defenses. Practicing the basics makes you safer and more secure!

Watch our on-demand webinar, “Cybersecurity BoOotcamp: Back to the Basics” to learn easy, yet impactful actions that will reduce cyber threats by 85%!

Our goal is to help you minimize cybersecurity risks and ensure business continuity no matter what threats may come your way.  Let us help you build an integrated cybersecurity strategy tailored to your specific needs.

One Partner. Complete Solutions. Better Results. 

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