National Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2019: Must-Read Blogs on ‘Own IT’

Last updated at Tue, 25 Apr 2023 22:15:26 GMT

Held every October, National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM) aims to educate organizations and individuals on the ever-changing field of cybersecurity and encourage proper security practices. This year, NCSAM’s overarching theme focuses on three key areas where extra steps are necessary to remain safe both at home and in the workplace: Own IT, Secure IT, and Protect IT. In this blog series, we have compiled a list of top Rapid7 blogs that correlate with each NCSAM theme to offer readers a comprehensive overview of the space and some actionable cybersecurity tips to implement through the rest of October and beyond.

Before additional steps can be implemented to safeguard your digital profile, you must first take a step back and analyze your day-to-day activity on various devices and applications. This, along with taking note of your surrounding environments, allows for a more in-depth understanding of how, when, and where you could be vulnerable.

In this blog, we will highlight must-read blogs that align with NCSAM’s “Own IT” sub-themes of traveling tips, online security, social media, and the Internet of Things (IoT).

Traveling tips

Venturing to a new place can be fun and exciting, but you must take protective steps before, during, and after your trip. Whether you’re traveling abroad or taking a short road trip across state lines, these blogs will provide you with guidance on how to adequately plan for your trip.

1. NCSAM Security Crash Diet, Week 2: Social and Travel

While traveling, security risks can become much more prevalent during day-to-day activities. Transportation, social sharing, and connecting to WiFi during a trip all require a bit more thought than they usually would at home.

2. Mobile Application Security: Lock the Back Door!

Protecting your mobile applications while traveling is imperative to maintaining security during your trip. Using mobile applications on dicey WiFi networks can leave you prone to various types of attacks, including man-in-the-middle attacks.

3. 5 Tips for a Cyber Holiday Season

Although the holiday season is a time to give thanks and appreciation, cybersecurity threats abound. Travel and e-commerce are both high-risk areas during the holidays, so it’s beneficial to discuss proper security practices with friends and family.

Online security

Protecting online data should be a top priority for anyone seeking to be more secure in the digital world. As data breaches become more and more common, personally identifiable information such as your name, birthday, passwords, location, and general online presence are at risk. Read these blogs to brush up on online security best practices.

1. A Privacy Stack for Protecting Your Data

Thinking about how much of your personal data is located on various platforms can definitely be a daunting task. However, taking the necessary protection steps can make all the difference.

2. 7 Tips for Safe Online Shopping this Holiday Season

Coming back to the 2019 holiday season, online shopping scams have been on the rise over the past few years. Magecart—a credit-card skimming malware—made itself known as a prominent hazard to retailers and consumers in 2018, meaning that a new looming threat could be on the horizon.

3. National Cybersecurity Awareness Month: Tips for Improving Your Personal Pa55w0rd! Management

Having a strong, complex password for each service you use is key to appropriate password management, yet keeping track of everything is much easier said than done. Utilizing a strong password manager takes the stress out of security and allows you to focus on other areas.

Social media

Social media has become a medium through which individuals and organizations willingly share miscellaneous bits of information with the public. Over 3.48 billion people use social media in some form worldwide, and that figure only continues to grow, which places more emphasis on securing your own, personal account from malicious intent. The following blogs contain vital tips on keeping your social accounts safe from potential harm as the digital landscape develops with time.

1. To Compromise Instagram Accounts, Just Ask

Although this blog mainly highlights a previous issue with Instagram accounts, its overall theme touches on all social media platforms as a whole. Attackers will always attempt to exploit the latest vulnerabilities, and being proactive toward your security allows you to stay ahead of possible threats.

2. NCSAM: A Personal Security Crash Diet

When you take a look at your personal security, how would you grade yourself? It’s difficult to discern potential areas of improvement right off the bat, so make sure to carve out time for a personal security brief every so often.

Internet of Things

Digital assistants, wearable technology, and self-driving cars are three examples of the vast Internet of Things (IoT). IoT refers to any device that can send and receive data by being connected to the internet. As households continue to add new IoT devices, more risk is also introduced. Our blogs will keep you up-to-date on the initiatives required to safeguard any and all products that you have connected to the Internet of Things.

1. Hacking Cars Is Sexy

As cars become more automated and self-driving technology is widespread, how will car developers handle the latest security risks? Manufacturers are bringing new methods to the table regarding vulnerability detection and response, but the actual implementation of these practices might raise some concerns.

2. Smart Sensors: Our Bold New World

Smart sensor technology has revolutionized how certain metrics are detected to provide us with better quality-of-life improvements across multiple sectors. Such improvements, however, raise concerns regarding how secure the advancements are, along with the consequences of a system being compromised.

3. Smile! You're on Candid APT

The fear of having security cameras compromised continues to be a prominent threat for large organizations alike. Internet Protocol (IP) cameras send images through the internet, rather than being connected to a local recording device. This makes them prime targets for potential attackers to launch future attacks after gaining a foothold in the network.

That’s a wrap! Be sure to check back throughout the remainder of this week for our favorite blogs around Secure IT and Protect IT.