10.24.2024 Brittani Yeager
Estimated Reading Time: 5 Minutes
Fall is in the air. With it brings the changing color of the leaves, Sunday Night Football, Halloween, scary (and not-so-scary) movies, and… Cybersecurity Awareness Month!
2024 marked 20 years that Iris® has been at the forefront of safeguarding identities and empowering businesses to protect their customers from the ever-evolving threat of identity fraud and cybercrime. As we celebrate this momentous anniversary, we’re proud to once again champion Cybersecurity Awareness Month (CAM), reinforcing our mission to bring our clients’ customers from distress to relief – anytime, anywhere.
Through our many years of championing such an important initiative, we’ve shared infographics, blogs, videos, and much more with our clients, end-users, employees, and community. This year, we relaunched a webpage that houses many of our popular CAM resources all in one place: The Iris Guide to Outsmarting a Scammer. We created this webpage specifically to help consumers and businesses see how easy it can be to reduce their risk of becoming an identity theft or scam victim. Because cybersecurity and identity protection don’t have to be complicated. There are simple, effective steps everyone can take to #SecureOurWorld.
Let’s explore a few best practices that can make a big difference in protecting your identity and data.
Four Ways to #SecureOurWorld
1. Beware of Phishing Attempts
Phishing is when criminals use fake emails, social media posts, or direct messages to lure you to click on a bad link or download a malicious attachment, which can take you to a phishing website or even install malware on your device. If you click on a phishing link or file, you may be handing over your personal information to cybercriminals.
Also, beware of how much personal information you share about yourself online. Often, hackers will take the information they find online about you to assist them in deploying clever phishing attempts or committing identity fraud.
If you’re ever unsure if a communication is a phishing attempt, you can use these four tips to help you clearly spot a phishing scam. Don’t take the bait. Recognize and report phishing to stay safe online and protect your identity.
2. Update Your Software Regularly
One of the easiest ways to boost your cybersecurity is to keep software and apps updated – always. If you install the latest updates for devices, software, and apps, you not only get the best security available but also ensure that you get access to the latest features and upgrades. Don’t fret — updating software is easy, and you can even make it automatic.
Here are some tips you should know before your next software update.
3. Enable Multi-Factor Authentication Where Possible
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) adds an extra layer of security to your sensitive accounts. Not every account or device offers MFA, but it is becoming more common every day. You might already have it set up for your devices, like if you use FaceID or fingerprint scan to unlock your phone or laptop. Check if you can turn on MFA for your online banking accounts, email, social media accounts, and online merchants.
Your data is precious and important – add an additional layer of protection to your sensitive accounts to bolster the security of your data.
4. Use Strong Passwords and a Password Manager
We know creating, storing, and remembering passwords can be challenging. But the truth is that passwords are your first line of defense against cybercriminals. No matter what accounts you protect, you can implement better password protection and safety in a few simple steps. Also, simple-to-use password managers make it easier to maintain your passwords.
A password manager is also a great way to create and maintain strong passwords for the increasing number of online accounts we log into. Plus, you’ll only need to remember the single password that unlocks your password manager vault. So, say goodbye to messy sticky notes or notebooks filled with passwords, and say hello to a quality password management system.
Are you already a password security pro? Take our quiz to test your knowledge.
Championing Cybersecurity Awareness Month
CAM is an initiative Iris Powered by Generali champions wholeheartedly. Launched in 2023, the National Cybersecurity Alliance (NCA) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) created the “Secure Our World” theme to empower everyone to understand the simple ways to protect themselves, their family, and business from online threats. The theme was such a hit in the community that the NCA and CISA decided to use it again in 2024!
This year’s theme aligns perfectly with our commitment to developing identity and personal cyber protection tools and educational resources for businesses across the globe to offer their customers, helping them ensure their sensitive data remains safe and secure in today’s increasingly digitized world.
In 2004, we saw a real consumer need for victims of identity theft and became one of the first organizations to provide identity theft resolution services in the U.S. As the world became more and more reliant on digital technology, the risk of data compromise and, worse, identity fraud grew too.
We’ve seen the fraud landscape evolve through the years, with scammers and identity thieves adjusting their tactics along the way. But throughout it all, Iris has been steadfast in our commitment to help people. We are a people-first organization. Protecting people is in our DNA.
So, be sure to subscribe to our blog and follow us on LinkedIn for updates about the ever-changing fraud landscape and tips to help mitigate your risk and #SecureOurWorld all year long.
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