DIGITAAL | DIGITAL
It's time for some digital
housekeeping
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South Africa is the second most targeted country in the world when it comes to
cyber attacks and has the third highest number of cybercrime victims worldwide.
Most of us have numerous online accounts and use the same password for every one of
them because, let’s admit it, nobody can remember hundreds of different passwords. But,
who uses the same key to open all the doors at your house? So why are you doing this
online?
By Johan Le Grange
Senwes Digital Content Specialist
H
ackers love it when you
use the same password for
multiple accounts because
this allows them to try and
log in to numerous of your other online
profiles, sometimes with a great deal of
success. South Africa is the second most
targeted country in the world when it
comes to cyber attacks and has the third
highest number of cybercrime victims
worldwide. A silver and bronze spot no
one wants to have.
So, what should you do to clean up this
digital house of yours?
Make sure you use strong passwords
People think no one would guess their
passwords. Don’t use patterns on your
keyboard, family or pet names, hobbies
or any natural, somewhat predictable
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passwords. A strong password consists
of upper and lower case letters, symbols
and special characters and is usually
between six and ten characters. For
example: @6>h*TGYtj. free-trial period? If you aren’t using those
profiles or accounts anymore, go back to
those websites and delete your profile. It's
often through such forgotten accounts that
you are left exposed to cyber criminals.
Start using a password manager
With unique passwords for all your online
accounts that all adhere to the above
mentioned standards, it’s impossible
to remember them all. Therefore, use
a password manager or secure an
online place to save them. The benefit
of implementing this solution, is that
you don't have to remember any of your
passwords, the software does it for you.
You only have to remember the one to log
in to your password manager. Set-up two-factor or multi-factor
authentication
These added authentication methods
serve as additional security layers for you
and your business and ensure that you
are the only person who can access your
account. Log-ins can be compromised
within minutes, leaving your private data,
such as your personal and financial
details, exposed.
Clean up after yourself
How many times have you created an
account online to try out a service or
just to get the feel of the program for the
SENWES SCENARIO | HERFS • AUTUMN 2019
References:
South African Banking Risk Information
Centre (SABRIC)
PwC’s Global Economic Crime and Fraud
Survey for 2018