Four Steps to Stronger Cybersecurity

Hi! Belinda Gunnell, VEC's Innovation and Technology Coach here. October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Here's a quick reminder of four simple but important cybersecurity practices that can help keep you, and your household, more cyber-secure.

1) Use Strong Passwords and a Password Manager. Choose long, random, unique letters or phrases including all character types (uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and symbols). And set up a password manager - it's a powerful tool that makes it easier for you to create strong passwords.

2) Turn On Multifactor Authentication (MFA). Enable MFA on all your online accounts that offer it, especially email, social media, and financial accounts. Use authentication apps or hardware tokens for added security.

3) Recognize and Report Phishing Emails, Texts, and Calls. Be cautious of unsolicited messages. If you are inclined to respond, always verify the authenticity of requests by contacting the individual or organization through a different, trusted communications channel.

4) Ensure Your Software is Updated. Do software updates when necessary. When available, turn on automatic updates to keep operating systems and applications up-to-date.