Internet security is trivial, having the necessary precautions to protect all elements that are part of our network and equipment, such as infrastructure and information, which is often the most affected by cybercriminals.
Computer security is responsible for creating methods, procedures, and standards that manage to identify and eliminate vulnerabilities in information and physical equipment, such as computers.
This type of security has databases, files, and computers that prevent important information from falling into the hands of the wrong people.
Even so, we are the ones who should prevent being attacked by cyber-criminals.
Main risks on the Internet
The main objectives that cyber-criminals have through the Internet are.
The exploitation of vulnerabilities research carried out by great computational enterprise made less than two years ago showed that the ten best-selling devices had an average of 25 vulnerabilities each and that one of the most recurrent was not requiring a strong password.
- Violation of privacy.
Many of these devices have video cameras to monitor everything that happens in a given environment remotely via the Internet. For this reason, it is crucial to evaluate how necessary it is for these to remain connected to the Internet and, if necessary, to keep them correctly configured and using secure passwords.
- Theft of sensitive information.
In these scenarios of many devices connected and sharing information on the Internet, Wi-Fi networks become essential to ensure the security of sensitive information.
For this reason, we recommend separating the networks from the devices that connect to other devices, such as computers or smartphones, which might have sensitive information.
- Excessive information generation.
Another point to think about is the fact that data collected by the devices, even though they seem to be insignificant, such as those researched by the accelerometer and gyroscope of a Smartphone, could be compiled to infer other information.
For example, the driving habits of a particular user could be used by an insurance company to establish insurance amounts based on data that is collected by them for a different purpose.
- Information leaks.
All the information that devices generate will be stored by the manufacturers, in some server or central repository. While the users cannot control the security of these types of services, manufacturers must take the security features of their devices and servers to ensure that their customers’ data remains secure.
Cybercriminals use various methods to attack a victim on the Internet, such as the use of viruses to penetrate systems and alter the functioning of electronic devices, or Pishing, which consists of a cybercriminal posing as a different person through emails, instant messaging, or social networks to acquire confidential information such as passwords, credit cards, among others.
How to prevent it?
If you handle a lot of information and have several computers, as is the case of companies, it is best to ask for help from professionals in matters of the Internet and computational security.
On the other hand, users should take the necessary preventive measures, such as keeping the antivirus activated and updated in our devices with an internet connection.
They also may try to avoid making financial operations in open networks or public computers and verify the attached files of messages from unknown people and avoid downloading them if you do not have full security of their content.