Zoom meetings and remote work might be convenient during the pandemic, but they’re a boon for hackers looking to steal personal information.
Thursday is World Password Day, and according to North Dakota’s IT department, cybersecurity threats are at an all-time high.
Since home networks may not be as secure as those in the office, it’s important to make sure your online presence is secure. Tony Aukland manages cybersecurity education and public awareness for the state and says hackers are becoming more sophisticated in their phishing attempts.
Over the past few years, he says hacking has happened more often — and it’s not slowing down anytime soon.
“We never see the numbers go down. The numbers always increase, the attack surface always increases. This is very prevalent when you are dealing with the current event of the day. So the last year and a half with COVID and so forth, that is a very high attack surface because it affects everyone in the world,” Aukland said.
Aukland recommends setting strong passwords, using different usernames for different logins and updating devices when needed.
To learn more about securing your online presence, check out defend.nd.gov, which has tips for online security and a personal assessment to see how well you can identify and avoid cyber threats.