Cyber security month 2020: the importance of it and why you should be interested
By: Carl Vonde
Tags: Cybersecurity Month, Cybersecurity, Internet Security Toolkit, Cybermonth, Deal

Cybermonth or cybersecurity awareness month is dedicated to raise awareness on the topic. During this period, companies and national infrastructures usually share information about safer online experiences and potential harms.

Cybermonth is becoming more and more critical to the public, since many companies holding sensitive user data are experiencing various types of hackers attacks. According to Statista statistics, in 2019 alone, 752 business and financial companies experienced data breaches in the US.

At the moment, data breaches targeting big companies are not the most significant problems. Hackers are now targeting people at home. Recently home security camera footage was hacked and shared over 3TB worth of videos online. The content was shared on pornographic sites.

Also, more and more cases occur regarding big companies trespassing and ignoring the basic laws or privacy. H&M was recently fined for breaking GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) over employee surveillance. The company was surveillancing over a few hundred employees and collecting their private data.

Hackers are not the only bad guys anymore considering the current events in cybersecurity. The internet is full of threats that can come from many sources. That’s why cybersecurity hygiene and basic knowledge is crucial.

How can you learn more about cybersecurity?

You can follow news websites, for example, BBC or Business Insider. Usually, the big guys of the press are fast to upload hot news. And do not forget to visit Ycombinator and Hackernoon — these websites have strong communities and aim for top-notch content as well as discussions.

If you use Reddit, try searching for these subreddits r/security, r/privacy, r/technology, etc. These are only a few to mention, and you can find way more if you check out the suggestions section. You will definitely find people and experts talking about various security issues, the future of cybersecurity or even getting down to the basics and discussing the importance of cyber security.

Also, if you are a podcast fan, there are plenty of cyber security podcasts to listen to. Darknet Diaries is a podcast about hackers, breaches, shadow government activity, cybercrime, etc. The series started to air in 2017 and is still going strong. Risky Biz podcast is hosted by journalist Patrick Gray. This podcast covers the most important news of the week.

You can also check out these podcasts: Cyberwire, Hacking Humans, Unsupervised Learning.

What tools should you use to improve your online security?

By educating yourself and being aware of the potential threats online, you become more immune to them. Sadly this is not enough, and it is crucial to use various strategies to improve cybersecurity. Here are a few cybersecurity tools to start using:

Password manager — a password management tool is essential for safe login information keeping. Using this tool, you will have the ability to create strong passwords, like this one: P3@B*$KpCdsqD, and the best part is — you don’t have to remember it. Also, most of the providers have breach scanners. This feature alerts you when data breaches occur.

If you are doing a lot of e-shopping, a password manager is a must. A lot of websites offer you a convenient way of storing your credit card details. This feature saves time, although it is dangerous if the website gets hacked, and all of your banking info sails into the void of hackers. For this particular reason, better save your credit card details in an encrypted vault and copy-paste them when needed.

There are plenty of providers out there offering different types of services and features, so far NordPass, has it all. Antivirus program — a strong antivirus is one of the critical tools to add. This service will scan your computer for harmful viruses and eliminate them from the system. The basic preinstalled antivirus may seem to do the job. However, it’s not always the case. Hackers are continually improving their skills and finding new ways to crack system vulnerabilities.

A lot of techies swear by EsetNod32 antivirus, although there are a few others worth mentioning: Norton Antivirus, Bitdefender. VPN service — a so-called virtual private network will help you encrypt your traffic. This means your ISP won’t be able to see what you are up to online. Also, a VPN allows you to skip countries. In other words, you can appear to be in Australia, although you are in the US. This tool is essential while using public WIFI because it will encrypt your traffic and protect from hackers using the same network. According to PCMag, the best VPNs in 2020 are NordVPN, ProtonVPN, and Mullvad.

A lot of cyber security companies during this month are offering some significant discounts. So, it’s the best time to start using some tools and not spend a pile of cash. For example, NordPass is offering a 70% discount of a 2 years deal (price $35.76) and 60% off a 1 year plan for $23.88.

Cyber attacks became complete normality these days, and security industry specialists are continually warning about more and more advanced techniques used by hackers or others. That’s why a cybersecurity month is way more important than ever. This month is a window to invite more people to the conversation and show them its importance.