Common IT Wisdom That Keeps You Secure

Day in and day out, employees hear the same things from their IT staff about cybersecurity and safety. Though they may sound like a broken record, there are essential reasons and rationale behind these practices and advice. Keeping safe and secure while connected isn't just about how your system is set up - it is also very much about how you end up using it. Below, we discuss some common IT staff wisdom and provide some background information and the rationale as to why it definitely merits your attention.

Make sure you lock your screen when you are away from your desk:

Screen-locking policies exist for a reason. Even if you are leaving for just a few minutes at a time, be sure to lock your screen. Though physical intruders are rare during the daytime and in conventionally secured offices, intrusions do occasionally happen. Screen locks also thwart opportunistic insider attacks from other employees who seek to obtain information or access information beyond what they should normally have. If you don’t adhere to a screen locking policy, an attacker can simply walk up and start manipulating or stealing your information without having to even work at getting into your system. And remember, you are ultimately responsible for everything done under your login!

Don’t write down your passwords or user credentials:

The same concept applies here in establishing a screen lock on your system. On the rare occasion a

physical attacker gains access to your desk area, they will immediately look for written passwords and authentication material. Post-it notes, index cards, etc. aren’t secure from attackers even if you think they might be out of sight under your keyboard! From looking at your written password, they can get right into your sensitive protected office systems and start stealing data or compromising assets. This risk isn’t only from a completely unknown outsider but could be coming from contractors or internal staff with malicious intent.

Don’t re-use your office computer password for other systems and services:

One of the riskiest things you can do is use the same password across multiple accounts or systems. Cyber threat actors are constantly stealing login credentials from numerous systems that may be more insecure, like online shopping sites example. Many times, these credentials are leaked online for other cybercriminals to also exploit. They then are able to take these stolen credentials and use them to try to access more secure systems, like online banking, or your office systems. If you, unfortunately, follow this practice of re-using your work password elsewhere, you leave yourself and your organization open to this type of compromise... 

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