October – Cybersecurity Awareness Month

Meet the Bad Guys
DON’T MAKE IT EASY FOR THEM
Cybercriminals don’t need you to make a huge mistake.
They’re hoping you’ll take a shortcut, reuse a password, skip MFA, postpone an update or react too quickly to a message

Meet DPXAKER

Weak and reused passwords make his job easy.
Make their life difficult:
Use long, unique passwords for every account and let a password manager remember them for you.

Meet Zestix

A stolen password can be all it takes when MFA isn’t turned on.
Make their life difficult:
Turn on MFA everywhere you can. An authenticator app or biometrics adds another barrier between a criminal and your account..

Make Them Work for It
CYBERCRIMINALS LOVE SHORTCUTS. DON’T GIVE THEM ANY.

Make their life difficult:
Stop. Look. Think. You don’t have to click, reply or answer immediately.

Meet Cozy Bear

Outdated software gives attackers known weaknesses to exploit.
Make their life difficult:
Turn on automatic updates. Keep Windows, browsers, apps and devices current ­and restart when an update requires it.

Meet the Bait Throwers

Phishing and scam messages want you to react before you think. Urgency, fear, prizes and unexpected requests are favorite tricks.
Make their life difficult:
Stop. Look. Think. You don’t have to click, reply or answer immediately.

Make Life Hard for Cybercriminals

5 SMALL HABITS. ONE BIG DIFFERENCE.

🔑 Use long, unique passwords
🔐 Turn on MFA
⬆️ Install your updates
🎣 Think before you click
👀 Question unexpected requests

You don’t have to be a cybersecurity expert.
You just have to make yourself a harder target.

Cybersecurity Awareness Month
tips adapted from the National Cybersecurity Alliance
StaySafeOnline.org