Owing to COVID-19, the use of the internet in India has increased drastically. Internet exchange operator DE-CIX India reported that while the overall traffic is up more than 20%, video
streaming has gone up by 120% and gaming by more than 80%. Work from home, e-learning, and entertainment are some elements that upped the internet consumption. The increased
traffic also opens up the possibility of increased cyber-attacks. There has been a 50% surge in global cybercrimes post the onset of COVID-19. I have very frequently come across news
about people losing huge amounts of money from their bank accounts in recent times. While usage of the internet is most essential during these times it also imperative that we follow internet hygiene and save ourselves from being a victim of cyber-attack.
A study by IBM reports that 95% of the Cybersecurity breaches are due to Human errors such as weak Passwords, opening emails from unknown sources, and unsafe downloads. Following the below listed 5 simple practices will greatly enhance our data protection and privacy.

Set Strong Passwords

Always use a combination of Alphanumeric and special characters in your passwords. Changing passwords frequently is a good practice. There are some secure password manager applications to aid you in this process. For example, by using LastPass you can generate strong passwords and store them in highly secure vaults.

Confirm to best video conferencing practices

You might be well aware of news circulating about recent leaks from a video conference. Video conferences have become a norm while working from home and there are several service providers who meet this requirement. Irrespective of the service provider you chose, it is always good to lock the meetings and maintain a waiting list to ensure that unwanted guests
are filtered out.

 Lock the computer

Always ensure to lock the computer while away from the work. This is very important in case if you have children in the house. It is highly probable that they might open a web browser, start playing games, visit precarious sites, and make unsafe downloads. These activities highly increase the risk of data corruption and theft. So, lock the computer while not around it and it is also advisable to keep children away from it to reduce chances of physical damage.

Practice Secure Browsing

It is highly recommended to practice safe browsing by checking if the browser has the Padlock icon, using HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) sites and adding an Internet Security Application.

Beware of Social engineering

How many of you got fake lottery mails and other similar offers from unknown sources? This is social engineering and involves psychological manipulation of people’s mind to force them into performing actions like opening SMS and e-mails from suspicious links. It’s a serious threat to information security; hence avoid opening such suspicious links. Practice internet hygiene by following these simple practices and stay safe from falling victim to cybercrimes.

Author

Rami Reddy | Head IT