8 tips for keeping security on internet day (on other days as well)

Internet Day is celebrated on May 17^th to highlight the achievements and transformations promoted by the popularization of the web.

In the last 23 years, the number of network users has grown more than 273 times¹.

But, along with that figure, we saw a rise in malicious schemes that leverage domestic or corporate connections to distribute malware, denial-of-service attacks, steal data, and many other malicious purposes.

The losses to the companies are high. According to a recent study, cybercrime actions could cost US$ 5,2 billion over the next five years².

Within companies, users pose a permanent challenge, since most criminal or malicious schemes bet on users unpreparedness or misinformation.

That’s why we’ve put together 4 tips for users and 4 tips for companies to reinforce their security practices for good internet use, to prevent attacks from occurring and to keep the environment and data always protected.

4 Internet security tips for users

1. Suspect of offers “too easy to be true”

Social engineering tactics are the core of web-based criminal actions. It’s important for users to always be aware of phishing techniques, following best practices to avoid being fooled by fake messages or fancy offers that are received by email or even applications from their mobile device.

2. Bolster your passwords

This is always very difficult for the user: managing unique passwords for different accounts. But it’s critical to create ever stronger passwords to prevent brute-force attacks, for example.

If an attacker has access to your personal account, they can either promote malicious actions “on behalf” of the account holder, which can lead to legal inconvenience; or even use personal data to promote other scams and generate financial losses.

3. Keep your software up-to-date

There’s a reason that all manufacturers insist that updating the systems in use is critical. Outdated software can present vulnerabilities that if exploited by an attacker will be the gateway to access information to your sensitive information.

4. Avoid Public WiFi

Free internet connection seems like a great opportunity for most users, especially to use with their mobile device. But what is the guarantee of security in these connections?

Since anyone can connect to a WiFi point, many schemes use this tool for scams. For example, an attacker can create a WiFi network to collect user activity data or even a link whose purpose is to activate malicious code on the user’s device that has decided to connect to that network.

4 Internet security tips for businessess

1. Train your employees

Prioritize keeping your employees always informed about new cybercrime techniques and malicious schemes.

1. Promote good practice training so that the user understands the basis of security actions;
2. Regularly share cybersecurity information so the user can understand how cybercrime techniques work;
3. Involve executive leaders in awareness-raising actions, as they can serve as role models for their most direct teams.

2. Be consistent in access management

 It is important to create profiles for each hierarchical level, defining what type of applications and information can be accessed within the environment, especially if this information can be accessed outside the central perimeter.

It’s equally important to centralize your enterprise resources, forcing all users to authenticate to the company firewall, before accessing any information.

With this, in addition to adding a layer of security, which is the authentication in the firewall, you will also create log of all user activities.

3. Adopt content filters on the web

By applying filters, network administrators can control the type of content their users can access and thus avoid risky behavior such as browsing through pages and potentially dangerous content. With effective technologies, it is possible to thoroughly evaluate the reputation of URLs, browsers, files and applications, etc.

4. Adopt encryption at all points

Encryption is an essential technology for protecting information. In addition to ensuring that your security tools have encryption to protect the central network, it is also important to ensure that external connections, whether to the web, to the cloud or between remote devices, also have their protected content.

With these tips, companies and their users can enjoy all the benefits of the internet, safely!

1 https://www.internetworldstats.com/emarketing.htm

2 https://www.accenture.com/pt-pt/company-news-release-cybercrime-can-cost-billions-to-companies