{"id":52637,"date":"2016-02-22T16:12:49","date_gmt":"2016-02-22T16:12:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/?p=52637"},"modified":"2016-02-22T16:12:49","modified_gmt":"2016-02-22T16:12:49","slug":"52637","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/52637\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 5 Cyber Security Threats of 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>The biggest security threats of 2016 are\u2026<\/strong><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Cyber attacks continue to be on the rise, and according to <a href=\"http:\/\/news.thewindowsclub.com\/cyber-security-trends-2016-safeguard-businesses-82317\/\" target=\"_blank\">TWCN Tech News<\/a>, these are the biggest cyber security threats of 2016:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Mobile attacks<\/li>\n<li>Online extortion and hacktivism<\/li>\n<li>Password recovery scams<\/li>\n<li>Digital attacks causing physical damage<\/li>\n<li>Internet of Things (IoT) leading to cyber attacks<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Mobile attacks have been on the rise recently due to our increased use and reliance on mobile devices.\u00a0 By using certain applications to store your personal information, you may be setting yourself up for a mobile attack. It is best to keep your personal data off your mobile devices entirely, but if you choose to keep payment information on your mobile devices, make sure you are not putting all of the data in one place.\u00a0 By doing so, if your device is hacked the scammers have a one-stop-shop to all of your information.<\/p>\n<p>Online extortion and hacktivism, also known as ransomware has become increasingly popular.\u00a0 In the last few weeks there have been stories of ransomware attacks at hospitals and school districts.\u00a0 Unfortunately, the ransomware left servers completely useless without any way to obtain the lost data without the encryption key.\u00a0 For these two examples, both paid the ransomware to obtain the keys so they could get back into their files.\u00a0 It is understandable, in these two cases, they needed to get their information back; however, by paying the hackers, their behavior is being rewarded and the likelihood of continued attacks increases.<\/p>\n<p>Password recovery scams are related to phishing scams.\u00a0 Once the hackers gain access to your email account they can recover your password and compromise your account.<\/p>\n<p>Digital attacks are not only an invasive way to obtain your personal data, but could also lead to physical damage to your devices.\u00a0 The act of backing up your data is critical in all of these attacks, but is particularly important when your device is rendered useless.<\/p>\n<p>IoT, or things that have WiFi or Bluetooth capabilities, are potential cyber attack targets.\u00a0 Many of these things, (eg: smart TVs, refrigerators, cars, etc.) don\u2019t have a direct security software program to protect them from attacks, meaning the protection from a data breach is limited.<\/p>\n<p>So what can you do to keep your information safe?\u00a0 We encourage\u00a0you to\u00a0back-up your data.\u00a0 You also need to be sure that your back-ups are current, and are encryption free.\u00a0 You should also be sure not to use the same password for different accounts.\u00a0 It is also encouraged that you change your password every 30-60 days.\u00a0 These passwords should have various authentication components, such as using capital and lowercase letters, numbers, and other features such as #, $, % etc.<\/p>\n<p>You should also be sure to keep your device software up-to-date.\u00a0 Many times, if there are security holes, they will be patched during updates.\u00a0 If you are neglecting these updates you could be leaving yourself open for attack.\u00a0 Lastly, be sure to use security software for all applicable devices.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The biggest security threats of 2016 are\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54,"featured_media":52244,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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