As our world grows increasingly reliant on digital technologies for financial transactions, criminals are steadily shifting their attention toward online theft. Providing one example of this, recent reports show that data compromises hit an all-time high in the U.S. in 2023 — showing a 72% increase over the previous record set in 2021. Further, according to the FBI’s 2023 Internet Crime Report, potential losses from cybercrime hit $12.5 billion nationally in 2023, marking an increase of more than $2 billion from the preceding year.
Putting cybersecurity in the spotlight
Observed each October in the United States, National Cybersecurity Awareness Month seeks to broaden awareness about the dangers posed by cyberthreats, as well as to highlight the importance of protecting yourself online. And two decades after its launch in 2004, the observance has become more important than ever as we progress further and further into the digital age.
4 easy ways to step up your online security
This national Cybersecurity Awareness Month, take steps to avoid becoming a victim of cybercrime. Consider implementing these four top tactics from the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency. They are all relatively easy to put in place, and together, they can go a long way toward keeping your personal information from being compromised by bad actors online:
- Recognize and report phishing — Phishing is a leading tactic cybercriminals use in an attempt to fool consumers into providing their sensitive personal and financial information. The practice typically employs an email, text or direct message designed to look like it’s coming from a trusted person, a legitimate business or a recognized organization. The misleading messages often try to convince the recipient to visit a deceptive link designed to collect sensitive information such as credit card numbers or account usernames/passwords, or to download a harmful attachment created to monitor user activity or infect the user’s device.
But phishing attempts often have telltale signs that they’re not legitimate, such as an attempt to create a false sense of urgency, misspelled words and poor grammar, requests for personal information that legitimate senders wouldn’t normally ask for, and links to websites that are not trustworthy. (Tip: To see where a link embedded in an email is actually directing to, hover your cursor over the linked copy. When you do, you should see the link’s true destination appear within your web browser or next to your cursor on your device’s screen. Even better, rather than following links included in emails or texts, contact the business, organization or person directly via a known and verified phone number, email address or web address so that you’ll know you’re actually dealing with the legitimate entity.)
Overall, always be skeptical of communications asking for sensitive information and of unexpected attachments included in any digitally delivered messages. By learning to recognize phishing attempts and reporting them when you see them, you can greatly reduce your chances of falling victim to these malicious tactics and help prevent the cybercriminals behind them from successfully targeting others. - Use strong passwords — When it comes to the passwords you use to access your online accounts, it only makes sense that the more complex they are, the harder they’ll be for cybercriminals to crack. And of course, by using different passwords for your various accounts, you lower the likelihood that bad actors can use a compromised password from one account to access your other online accounts.
Learn and use the top tactics for creating strong account passwords, such as making them lengthy (experts recommend 16 characters or more, using a combination of both uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols) and opting for a collection of unrelated words rather than a single word or name. Make sure to use a different password for each of your accounts and change them regularly — especially for accounts that house sensitive personal and/or financial information. And to really step up the safety of your online passwords, consider using a password manager, which can enable you to employ especially strong passwords much more easily and without having to commit them to memory or write them down where someone else might discover them. - Turn on MFA — To make them harder for unauthorized users to access using stolen or otherwise compromised passwords, many online accounts offer an extra layer of protection called multi-factor authentication (MFA). This added security measure typically requires users to, before being granted access to their online accounts, enter a unique code sent to them via text, email or an automated phone call. Because the communications avenues where the codes can be sent have been verified in advance as being legitimate and unique to the user, employing MFA makes it much harder for cybercriminals to access accounts protected with this extra security step. So, for any accounts that offer MFA (also known as two-step verification or two-factor authentication), it’s a good idea to take the steps needed to implement this added security protection — especially for accounts that might grant cybercriminals access to sensitive personal or financial details if accessed.
- Update software — Cybercriminals are always looking for new vulnerabilities they can exploit, and their tactics are always evolving. So, to protect against malicious actors’ constantly changing online schemes and to address the latest security risks, makers of digital software and applications regularly update their platforms and codes so their users can stay a step ahead of the latest cyberthreats. To make sure that your devices have the most up-to-date protections in place, always update to the latest software versions when they’re offered — or, even better, allow automatic updates in your devices’ and/or applications’ security settings.
To learn about more ways to protect yourself and your finances in the digital world, check out our blog article “8 Ways to Make Your Online and Mobile Banking Even Safer.”
At The Southern Bank, we pride ourselves on offering friendly, personalized service to all of our customers — and that includes providing guidance when you have questions about any of our banking services. To learn more about our Personal Banking services ranging from Personal Checking and Personal Loans to Savings & Money Market, Certificates of Deposit (CDs), Mortgages and more, check out the Personal Banking page on our website or visit one of our local branches for friendly, in-person service with a smile.