This month, electric cooperatives across the country will join forces to raise awareness about cybersecurity. We hope you will join us by recognizing October as National Cybersecurity Awareness Month and taking action to thwart hackers.
Electric co-ops work hard to protect the personal information of members and ensure cyber criminals don’t tamper with the reliability of the electric grid, but consumers have a lot at stake, too. Think about losing all the photos on your smartphone or having bank or credit card information stolen from your computer.
Cyber criminals all over the world are on the prowl through the internet, and they’re getting better at what they do, according to a team of cyber-security experts at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA).
“The bad guys tend to be a step ahead, and we’re always going to be playing catch-up, so you’re never going to be 100 percent secure,” says Barry Lawson, a senior director of regulatory affairs at NRECA. “But it’s not something to be afraid of. There are basic steps people can take to provide good layers of protection.”
Lawson, along with Cynthia Hsu, cybersecurity program manager, and Bridgette Bourge, senior principal for legislative affairs, offer the tips below for protecting yourself from internet danger at work and at home.
To learn more about National Cybersecurity Awareness Month and to view additional cybersecurity tips, visit staysafeonline.org.
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Cyber safety checklist
Create strong passwords: If it seems hard to keep up with all the passwords for the different software and applications you use, focus on the main passwords that open your computer, phone and wireless router. Make them complicated, with a mix of upper- and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters like % or &. Remember to change these passwords every six months. Our cybersecurity experts don’t recommend writing down your passwords, but if you do, keep that document locked in a safe place.
Keep software updated: Automatic software updates often include security patches to protect against the latest threats. Check regularly for updates, but be suspicious of update notices that arrive by email, especially if they claim to require urgent action. Visit the application’s website to make sure the update is legitimate.
Examine links and attachments before you click: A lot of the computer hacking problems you hear about in the news result from people clicking on links or attached files that infect their computers or mobile devices. An email can be disguised to look like it’s coming from your best friend, so take a moment and move your cursor over a link to reveal the full address before clicking it. You should be able to recognize the name of the legitimate source. If you don’t, find another way to verify the link.
Install and use virus protection: Buy your anti-virus software from one of the major recognized companies, and make it a subscription-type service that regularly sends automatic updates.
Back up your devices: Every few weeks, save a copy of everything on your computer or mobile device to an external storage system that you can unplug from your computer. Recent computer attacks involve ransomware that locks your computer and threatens to delete or prevent access to everything on it unless you pay the hackers. If you suffer a ransomware attack, you will need to take your computer to a professional to wipe everything off your hard drive and start over. With a backup, you will be able to restore your most valuable documents.
Secure all your internet-connected devices: Hackers have started invading wireless printers and baby monitors that work through the internet. These devices tend to have extremely weak, preset passwords that you probably don’t even notice. Read the instructions carefully, set good passwords, keep the devices updated and make sure any wireless routers in your home are secure as well. Any internet-connected device is vulnerable—smart TVs, cameras, voice-activated speakers, thermostats, video games, fitness bracelets and internet-connected refrigerators.