3 Things You Need to Know About Cybersecurity

By Clarissa Crisp, Technical Writer & Training Coordinator

Cyberattacks—from phishing to viruses to malware to ransomware to hacks—can plague every computer user at one time or another. You may even have been attacked and not even realized it. And the more we use technology, the more it’s only going to increase (see 7 Cybersecurity Threats on the Rise in 2021).

Although preventing cyberattacks isn’t foolproof (see below), you can and should be taking cybersecurity measures to help you avoid and thwart cyberattacks. Here are some facts you need to know:

  1. Human error is the culprit of most cyberattacks

    Here’s a scary statistic: Nearly 90% of cyberattacks are the result of human error. Often, problems stem from something basic, such as someone leaving a device in a public place or a work team member unwittingly giving away or exposing a password.

  2. Antivirus software is necessary—but it can’t accomplish everything

    Many people might reasonably assume that modern antivirus and internet security software protects you against every possible online threat. The main way such software works is to recognize viruses and Trojans it has already encountered and learned about. This means a constant race is on between hackers coming up with new exploits and antivirus vendors creating defenses against them.

  3. No protection measure is completely effective

    You may assume that with email systems’ “Junk Email” and “Clutter” folders, hackers will never manage to get a phishing email through to you that attempts to rob you of your passwords and personal details. They sometimes can and they sometimes will. Just as antivirus software cannot know about a virus that a hacker has only just created, a junk email filter cannot always be expected to detect a carefully crafted phishing email.

Staying informed and keeping abreast of new cyberattack methods and ways to safeguard against them might be the best measure you can take to keep yourself and your data safe.

For more information on the actions you can take to protect yourself, go to Everything You Need to Know About Cybersecurity from Consolidated Technologies, Inc.

Therese Kastning