How to Protect Yourself from Cyber Attacks in 2022

Inevitably, almost every positive development comes with its downsides. In this way, the digitization of the world and each of our lives has brough convenience and endless opportunities, but it’s also come with hacking, ransomware, phishing, scams, and cyber attacks. The use of digital technologies has made things a lot easier for businesses and individuals alike, but cyber attacks have also increased to unprecedented levels, and continue to rise.

Cyber-attacks have escalated dramatically since 2020, representing a range of risks for businesses and individuals alike. Encrypted assaults and ransomware attacks increased by 10.4 million and 623.4 million respectively throughout 2021. The reasons for this arguably involves not only the natural evolution of digitization, but also a recreation to more people working online and spending more time online in general in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The question is, what can you do to avoid these risks? How can you defend yourself against cyber attacks? Let’s find out.

How to Avoid Cyber Attacks

If you think your information isn’t interesting to hackers and get complacent, the odds of a cyber attack increase. Instead, here are some essential measures you can take to protect yourself from cyber attacks. 

Use Two Factor Authentication (2FA)

Two-factor authentication, often known as multi-factor authentication, adds an extra layer of security to your accounts and sensitive data. This strategy is used when a trustworthy platform requires two forms of identity verification before providing access to the sign-in.

Two-factor authentication has been widely adopted on social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. This verification process is now also used by banks, businesses, and practically every other sector to ensure the security of client information.

Update your Software Automatically

There is plenty of effective software around that can protect your data from all kinds of cyber attacks. However, in order to prevent an attacker from gaining access to your personal information, you need to keep your software up to date.

People often mistakenly believe that updating your software means that they’ll be an addition of new features or functions. However, updates are usually made in response to new threats and cyber attack methodology. That’s why it’s critical to keep your software up to date.

Think Twice 

We’ve all probably received links with relevant or irrelevant information at some point. However, these links can often come from malicious actors seeking to access your information, so it’s best to ignore them.

For instance, you might get a message that looks like it comes from a friend or family member, but says nothing and only includes a link. You might want to open the URL just to see what’s there out of curiosity. However, it’s best to ignore the link because there’s a strong risk you’ll fall victim to a phishing scam.

Strong Password

Having a strong password is one of the most basic and straightforward ways to secure your account and protect your sensitive information. Yes, passwords alone aren’t super secure, but they provide you with an extra layer of protection, as long as you choose the right one.

Using easy-to-guess passwords, such as 12345, your name, or your birthday, is not a good idea. With such simple passwords, you could be putting your account at risk. 

Here are a few pointers to help you create a strong password:

• Use a password that is at least 15 characters long.
• Make sure the password you select is unique.
• Make sure each of your accounts has a unique password. You can also use a password manager to help you remember all of your passwords.

Hackers try to be as clever as possible, and they are often one step ahead of us in breaking down walls and gaining access to our data. To keep them from doing so, we have to be sharper than they are.

Using security devices and software that aid in defending against cyber-attacks is critical. However, paying attention to the basics like having a strong password can often be enough to give the hackers a headache. This is why it is crucial that you create a strong password and keep your password information secure.

Key Takeaways

Today, practically every part of our lives is being digitised. Important and sensitive information is saved under digital accounts – from banking to healthcare systems, and online payments to social networking sites. There’s also no denying that this makes our lives easier and in many cases safer, but it also comes with its risks.

Whereas hackers are striving harder to breach that line of defence, network defenders are doing everything they can to make life difficult for them. To be a part of that line of defence and protect our own cybersecurity, we must take all necessary steps to better protect our accounts and our sensitive information from the massive influx of cyber-attacks.