Weekly Column: October is Cyber Security Awareness Month
The Internet is a platform on which many of us live our daily lives. Some of us share personal thoughts and photos on social media, we send emails to communicate with our families, colleagues and friends, and we even manage our bank accounts and financial transactions online. Some of us put our credit card information, home addresses, passwords and even social security numbers online. While technology has made our lives easier and more convenient, it also poses a serious threat as hackers increasingly find ways to access this information. In 2015 alone, nearly half of U.S. adults had their personal information exposed by hackers.
With all the sensitive information we put online, it is important to always remain mindful of the possibility that a computer hacker may target you and attempt to compromise your online accounts and personal information. Hackers will target vulnerable accounts. They don’t care if it’s a government server, a personal computer or smartphone or a server from a big corporation. The federal government experienced a massive cyber breach in 2015 that compromised the personal information of nearly 22 million federal employees.
The Department of Homeland Security has dubbed the month of October “National Cyber Security Awareness Month” to encourage Americans to protect online accounts from harmful cyber-attacks. There are a few tips we can use to protect ourselves from a cyber hack. First, it’s important to use strong passwords and avoid using the same password for multiple websites and online accounts. Make sure to lock your smartphone and computer when you’re not using them. If you receive a suspicious email, do not open any links or attachments that it may contain and delete the message immediately. You should also be cautious if you get a phone call or email from someone claiming to be a friend, family member or IRS representative asking for you to wire them money. Lastly, avoid accessing online banking accounts or other sensitive accounts on public Wi-Fi or from a public computer, as hackers can more easily access your information when you’re on a public network that is not secure.
Protecting our personal accounts from a cyber-attack is important, but we also must recognize the significant effects of a cyber-attack on our national infrastructure. An attack on our air traffic control towers, our dam systems, electrical grid or the New York Stock Exchange, for example, could result in a national security crisis. It could also dramatically impact our economy if we lose confidence in our financial institutions’ ability to transact business in a secure manner. In the Senate, I continue to work on cyber policy to make sure attacks like that are prevented, and that bad actors face consequences if they perpetrate such an attack.
During the month of October, I encourage all South Dakotans to take extra steps to protect themselves online. National Cyber Security Awareness Month provides us with an opportunity to reflect on the damage that can be caused by a cyber-attack and do everything we can to prevent it from happening. We can’t stop all attacks from happening, but we can take measures to help protect ourselves from cyber criminals that wish to do us harm.
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