Cybersecurity Tips and Best Practices : Staying Secure While Online
Being Proactive and Staying Vigilant is Key to Online Safety. Cyber criminals are constantly looking for nefarious ways to steal your data and commit fraud.
keeping your personal information secure and confidential is our top priority. We are committed to maintaining secure methods in the collection, use, and exchange of your information.
How Can You Protect Yourself?
Use common sense and do not release information that could be used to compromise your personal information. Regardless of the type of information requested, you are advised to:
Assess and determine the reasonableness of the request, and ask yourself how critical the information requested is. If you receive a suspicious e-mail or SMS message that appears to be from Islamic Exchange, please do the following:
1.Do not respond to the message or click on any of its links.
2.Avoid downloading apps from unofficial App Stores/unknown websites/unknown SMS.
3.Use Strong Passwords and enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) for your online accounts.
4.Always lock your device when you are not using it.
Here, we’ve compiled a list of the top cybersecurity tips and best practices for you to implement and share with others. We’ll continue to update this list to help keep your business secure.
1. Keep software up-to-date
Software companies typically provide software updates for 3 reasons: to add new features, fix known bugs, and upgrade security.
Always update to the latest version of your software to protect yourself from new or existing security vulnerabilities.
2. Avoid opening suspicious emails
If an email looks suspicious, don’t open it because it might be a phishing scam.
Someone might be impersonating another individual or company to gain access to your personal information. Sometimes the emails may also include attachments or links that can infect your devices.
3. Use anti-virus and anti-malware
As long as you’re connected to the web, it’s impossible to have complete and total protection from malware. However, you can significantly reduce your vulnerability by ensuring you have an anti-virus and at least one anti-malware installed on your device.
4. Check links before you click
Links can easily be disguised as something they’re not so it’s best to double check before you click on a hyperlink. On most browsers, you can see the target URL by hovering over the link. Do this to check links before you click on them.
5. Don’t be lazy with your passwords!
Put more effort into creating your passwords. You can use a tool like howsecureismypassword.net to find out how secure your passwords are.
6. Enable 2-Factor Authentication
Many platforms now allow you to enable 2-factor authentication to keep your accounts more secure. It’s another layer of protection that helps verify that it’s actually you who is accessing your account and not someone who’s unauthorized. Enable this security feature when you can.
7. Double-check for HTTPS on websites
When you’re on a website that isn’t using HTTPS, there’s no guarantee that the transfer of information between you and the site’s server is secure. Double-check that a site’s using HTTPS before you give away personal or private information.
8. Don’t store important information in non-secure places
When storing information online, you want to keep it in a location that can’t be accessed by unauthorized users.
9. Scan external storage devices for viruses
External storage devices are just as prone to malware as internal storage devices. If you connect an infected external device to your computer, the malware can spread. Always scan external devices for malware before accessing them.
10. Avoid using public networks
When you connect to a public network, you’re sharing the network with everyone who is also connected. Any information you send or retrieve on the network is vulnerable. Stay away from public networks or use a VPN when you’re connected to one.
11. Avoid the “secure enough” mentality
Unless you’re completely isolated from the rest of the world, there’s no such thing as being “secure enough.” Big companies like Facebook invest a fortune into security every year but are still affected by cyber attacks.
12. Back up important data
Important data can be lost as a result of a security breach. To make sure you’re prepared to restore data once it’s lost, you should ensure your important information is backed up frequently on the cloud or a local storage device.