6 Don't Be THAT Guy



6

Ah, October is upon us.  Ugg boots, pumpkin spice everything, and the changing of the leaves.  But not everything is as it seems my dear readers.  In the shadows lie threats that can affect us all.  If you’ve been following the news, you know that former Equifax CEO and current pariah, Richard Smith was recently publicly chastised in front of Congress for his inept handling of the security breach that exposed over 140 million of us.  You also know that in true CEO fashion, this “upstanding citizen” passed the buck to ONE IT guy!  Here are some tips on how to not become the “fall” guy.
Always secure your Common Access Card.  It does not matter if you are going to the printer four cubicles down or not.  Pull it out of the reader, ensure your PC locks, and go retrieve your document or do whatever it is you have to do.  An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Create a strong password of at least 15 characters and combining upper case, lower case, numbers, and special characters.  And for goodness sake, memorize it!  Writing it down and posting it at your terminal is like giving Lindsey Lohan the keys to the minibar!  (Thank you! I’ll be here all week!) 
Watch for phishing attacks.  Before you go clicking on that link to redeem the all-expense paid vacay you “won”, make sure that it’s from a credible source.  Or better yet, if you’ve never entered such a sweepstakes, pass it on to your local cyber security manager for analysis.
And training, training, training.  Annual refresher training, as mundane and hokey as it seems, can provide you with a quick wake-up call on what to look for.  Even if you try to click through the training in an effort to beat your best score, chances are you will have remembered a few important morsels of information which could serve to protect you against shade CEOs.  Cheers and happy computing!

References

King, M. W. (2017, October 3). Cybersecurity Awareness Month: Tips for staying safe online at work. Retrieved from US Army Web Site: https://www.army.mil/article/194864/cybersecurity_awareness_month_tips_for_staying_safe_online_at_work
Popken, B. (2017, October 5). Former Equifax CEO Blames One IT Guy for Massive Hack. Retrieved from NBC News: https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/former-equifax-ceo-blames-one-it-guy-massive-hack-n807956

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