During last week’s State of the Union address, President Obama revealed initial plans to protect American computer networks from cyberattacks. Obama fears that there are those “seeking the ability to sabotage our power grid, our financial institutions and our air traffic control systems” and urged Congress to act “by passing legislation to give our government a greater capacity to secure our networks and deter attacks.” Obama’s order gives the National Institute of Standards and Technology one year to finalize a standard procedure package to help companies identify and manage cybersecurity risks.
In the meantime, here are some tips to keep your computer safe:
- Take your computer passwords seriously. Don’t use the same password on more than one account. Make each password as difficult as possible. Change your passwords all the time and be careful what you click on.
- Update your computer software, antivirus and firewalls. Your computer might prompt you to perform regular software updates, but these updates don’t include all the applications you have installed on your computer. One of the biggest entryways for hackers is through security vulnerabilities found in outdated software. To prevent this, check each of your applications and programs regularly, and be sure your versions are all up to date. Additionally, keep your antivirus software and firewalls as up to date as possible.
- Update and protect your website. Just like your computer, your website needs to be regularly updated. You should make sure your transactions and important data are encrypted. All transactions on your website should be protected by an SSL certificate.
- Monitor your employees. You need to control which employees have access to which systems and applications. Lock your computer when you’re aware from it, thereby halting anyone from seeing any critical information. Educate and train your staff on good cyber security habits to avoid any uninformed issues.