October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. One of several tips I want to mention this month is about phishing. Phishing as it relates to email is an attacker sending an email message to you pretending to be legitimate, but really trying to steal your credentials to get into your e-mail account, your social media, or your office systems. Check out this quick video tip or read on to find out how to protect yourself:
In order to protect yourself, you should be very skeptical of every e-mail you receive, even if it looks like it’s coming from a legitimate sender or a real web site with a link to click. Ideally, the first thing you should do is visit the web site in question directly, without clicking the link, and then log in and do what you need to do to see a message or take an action, without clicking the email link. Even if an email is sent by a trusted friend or co-worker, their account may have been hacked and used to mislead you.
If you can possibly avoid it, if you must click the link, or you’re not sure about an email, we recommend you talk to your system administrator or your I.T. service provider and verify that the email is legitimate before you take action. It’s best to do nothing and stay safe than take an unnecessary risk, especially if an email is urging quick action to try and catch you off guard!
We’ll have more security tips coming for you throughout October!
