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Did you leave the door unlocked this morning

Data security is a hot topic with cyber crime seemingly growing exponentially and many high profile failures being reported in the press. Whilst much is written about consumer/retail world, the industrial world is now being targeted. So, what are you doing to protect your valuable assets?

Ever left home and wondered if you locked the door?

With all the modern security available for households including window, door locks, alarms, in-property IP-video cameras, movement and glass-break detection there remains one significant flaw – us.

I don’t know about you, but there’s been times where I’ve got in my car on the way to work only to question – did I lock the door this morning? That worrying moment when you realise your home, possessions and loved ones could be at risk. But, what about the elephant in the room – is your home now at risk from cyber-attacks – remote, shadowy figures attempting to access anything and everything using vulnerabilities in internet connected devices and routers. Furthermore, this increasingly applies to industrial systems where useful information – dam heights, electricity network data, utilities, are all finding applications as part of the internet of things.

So, how do you go about protecting your data in a world of cyber-crime?

  1. If you don’t already have antivirus running, then download a free copy now and scan for any malicious software on your PC / tablets
  2. Ensure your connecting devices have the very latest firmware patches applied
  3. Ensure you have a firewall running
  4. Update your router settings to disable ping response so cyber criminals can’t see you’re connected
  5. Regularly change your router password. For many users, both consumer and industrial, whilst attention is paid to getting the best / fastest network connection, the default password is often never changed leaving the router open for misuse
  6. If you know the IP address or MAC address of authorised devices then add these to the router and deny access to all others.
  7. Take it seriously and don’t leave things to chance
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