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Our society is advancing so quickly that it has become essential for everyone to have some form of device. Whether it’s a smartphone, laptop, or a tablet, it has become near impossible to live without these technological marvels.
From working remotely to keeping yourself entertained with Netflix, these devices can do it all. There’s one important aspect of these machines that are often overlooked though. Perhaps it’s because many people are too apprehensive when it comes to learning about it as it may seem complex at first
Cybersecurity is what we’re talking about. It’s a part of our modern world and protecting yourself from cybercrime is crucial for your personal safety, that should never be ignored. In fact, it should be at the forefront of your mind whenever you use your devices. Read on as we explore the subject further and help you to understand what you’re up against, and how you can keep yourself safe online.
Why is Cybersecurity so Important?
You may be asking yourself – why is cybersecurity such an important subject to understand? The answer is relatively simple, but there’s also a lot to explore and a lot of convincing reasons as to why you should be more focused on it now than ever before.
Firstly, cybersecurity is crucial in this day and age because of how personal our devices have become. Think about your smartphone and how much information is stored on it. Your credit card information? Your passwords? Perhaps even your social security number?
If a cybercriminal with malicious intentions was to infiltrate your device they would be able to gain access to all of that personal information that you have stored on your device. The problem is that many people think that it’ll never happen to them, so they tend to just ignore it altogether and move on with their lives.
Here’s the scary facts though, cybercrime is becoming more common, and more frequent. Experts estimate that a total of 2200 cyberattacks happen every single day. That’s equal to a cyberattack every 39 seconds! Hackers have become so skilled at their craft that they can even launch a cyberattack without the victim knowing about it until it’s too late.
Research has shown that there has been an immense increase in the number of cyberattacks that take place all around the world. An estimated 125% increase year-over-year has been recorded since 2020. The numbers before 2020 still showed an upward trend, however there is one factor that contributed to the massive spike we saw in 2020, and that is the Covid-19 pandemic.
With the world heading into a strict lockdown, maybe people were spending more and more time on their devices. Whether they were working remotely or browsing the internet and watching movies on Netflix, this increase in screen time was the ideal scenario for cybercriminals. Their targets now had no choice but to be on their devices, making their attacks much more successful in the process.
Ignoring cybercrime is not the answer. Hackers can attack anyone, anywhere, and at any time. Once your device has been targeted by a cyberattack, the hackers will be able to do incredible amounts of damage, not only to your devices, but in some cases even to your personal life. Cybercriminals have been known to commit identity theft, hold files and accounts at random, and even track what you are doing on your devices without your knowledge.
How to Protect Yourself From Cybercrime
So cybercrime is out there, it’s on the rise, and it’s dangerous. The good news is that you can keep yourself safe against cyberattacks as long as you take the right steps to ensure that your devices are secure enough.
The first thing you need to do is learn as much as you can about cybersecurity, and try to keep up with the latest news in cybercrime from a reliable source. We’ll talk about this more down below.
You also want to be installing the correct cybersecurity tools on your devices. There are a few essential cybersecurity tools that you may need such as a VPN, antivirus software and a secure password manager. However, the important thing you need to keep in mind is that you must avoid using free cybersecurity software, and always choose the premium option. This is because premium cybersecurity tools are better at protecting your devices.
One of the most common methods that cybercriminals use to infiltrate their victims’ devices is phishing scams. You should learn more about phishing scams and how to spot them if you want to stay safe online. Phishing scams have been around for decades, but recently they have become much more difficult to spot. This is because hackers use social engineering to trick their victims into trusting their phishing scams.
Another important aspect of keeping your devices secure is software updates. These annoying little updates that we often choose to ignore are actually very important for our devices. Software updates are used to fix any flaws that have been discovered in the software – whether it’s your cybersecurity tools or your device’s operating system. The updates are used to fix these flaws and ensure that your device is protected. Software updates are also used to add new security features to your device, which can be crucial as the trends and strategies in cybercrime change.
How to Keep up With the Latest News
One of the best ways to learn how you can keep your devices secure is to find a reliable source of information. There are many cybersecurity companies out there that give information about the tools you need to use or the latest news in cybercrime.
However, if you want some of the most informative and reliable information, make sure you check out the link at the beginning of this article. You’ll be able to find information on different types of cybercrime and how you keep your devices safe against them. You’ll also be able to keep up with the latest news and cybersecurity tools, all in one place.
