The recent leak of 16 billion credentials exposes every one of us to new cybersecurity risks. Yet, we tend to ignore the fact that we are all at risk until it hits us directly. However, it isn’t challenging to take action and protect yourself, your data, or your company from cybersecurity incidents. It only requires a moment to think about it and take one small step at a time. Thus, let us dive into why you should take the current threat seriously and what five actions you can take to protect yourself.
Why We Need To Take Action on Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity has never been more urgent, as evidenced by recent breaches that have exposed sensitive data from major platforms, including Google, Apple, and Facebook. Attackers now use AI to automate phishing, break passwords, and bypass security systems, making traditional defenses less effective. The fallout from these incidents is severe: identity theft, financial fraud, and business disruption all our lives.
Ransomware attacks, for example, have paralyzed healthcare and critical infrastructure, demonstrating that no sector is immune to these threats. With regulators and corporations slow to react, it is up to each of us to protect our data and take the necessary steps to secure our personal information, financial assets, and digital identity. Proactive cybersecurity isn’t just about avoiding inconvenience. It’s about safeguarding your future in an increasingly digital world.
Step 1: Minimize Your Footprint For Less Cybersecurity Incidents
The first step seems too logical. Criminals cannot breach data that doesn’t exist. Yet, we seldom act on removing unneeded accounts and data from the internet unless we get actively promoted to do so.
The best example is the sale of 23andMe. Once customers became aware of the company’s bankruptcy and the potential sale and abuse of their data, they started requesting that the company delete their DNA profiles.
We should apply the same vigilance about deleting our data to more online services. Whether it’s shopping sites we haven’t used in ages or newsletters we’re simply deleting, removing our data can go a long way in improving our security.
Step 2: Choose Passkey or Multifactor Authentication
The best way to avoid password leaks is to remove passwords from the equation. Multifactor authentication and Passkey eliminate many of the vulnerabilities associated with passwords. Instead, they rely on your phones to generate secure keys that change after every usage. Thus, even if criminals gain access to your password, the second factor will prevent the exploitation of the breach by putting another device in place as a safeguard.
Step 3: Keep Your Software Up-To-Date
I agree that restarting your computer or phone to update your software is an absolute pain. The notification always arrives when we are in the midst of focused work. Yet, it is critical to keep your systems up to date. Your system is often the last line of defense against ransomware and password exfiltrations.
With millions of email accounts breached, it is only a matter of time before criminals abuse an account of one of your friends to send you ransomware. Keeping your system up to date increases the likelihood that your data and your life remain unaffected.
Step 4: Use Password Managers For Better Cybersecurity
If you cannot use Multifactor Authentication or Passkey for a website or service, use a password manager. While storing a password on your computer seems counterintuitive at first, a secure password manager can help you create and remember longer, more complex, and, thus, more secure passwords. Additionally, most password managers allow you to use and change passwords with the click of a button, which eliminates some of the mental awkwardness associated with using and changing passwords.
Step 5: Monitor Your Credit
After years of data breaches, we should all assume that criminals have compromised our digital identities. Thus, we need to monitor our credit and bank accounts. Thankfully, the digitalization of banking has provided us with several trustworthy services that can help us stay up-to-date with our digital lives.
With all the data breaches and their respective class action settlements, they mostly come without an extra monetary cost. Additionally, if we all utilize these settlements, there is a slim chance that companies will take cybersecurity seriously.
Cybersecurity Incidents Are Only Getting Worse
Sixteen billion login records pose a significant threat to global cybersecurity. Yet they are only the tip of the iceberg. Over the past few years, incidents have escalated in size and affected an increasing number of individuals and companies.
Unfortunately, organizational changes are slow to respond and often fail to stay ahead in this whack-a-mole game. Thus, it is a task for each of us to keep our digital identities safe, practice cyber resilience, and protect our lives.
