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Top digital security tips from our Just Ask Gemalto experts that can help you stay safe online

by Brittany Jedrzejewski on October 21, 2019

With technology moving into more areas of our lives than ever before, understanding how to protect your online data has never been more important. However, cybersecurity is so much more than just your online activities. With an increasing number of objects and devices also connected to the internet, protecting yourself from various online threats is now a multifaceted job – one that requires an understanding of the types of malicious actors and the numerous directions cyber-attacks can come from. Only once we understand the scope of risk can we begin to fight back against hackers and come up with effective solutions to reduce the likelihood that we are subject to a data breach.

This is where our sister website, Just Ask Gemalto, can help you to navigate the digital world. The site answers your digital security questions, writes in-depth articles about the latest technology news and provides practical advice on topics concerning all things connected to the web.

As part of Cyber Security Awareness Month, this blog will look at four key areas of the digital sphere and direct you to posts on Just Ask Gemalto that can offer you more information on how to protect yourself online.

Keeping your finances secure

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Having your financial data compromised is one of the most gut-wrenching feelings. Your hard-earned money is now in the hands of some unknown assailant, and you become paranoid about it happening again. The problem has become an epidemic, with Juniper Research starting that online and mobile payment fraud losses will top $22 billion in 2019 —and could go as high as $48 billion by 2023.

There are many ways financial data can be stolen online, including fraudulent websites and apps, like Venmo, online scams, and imposter chatbots – and these methods are always evolving. If you are worried about the safety of your online payments, we recommend reading the following blogs:

Keeping your personal data secure

Perhaps one of the most news-worthy topics of 2019, breaches involving the hacking of personal data, and the fines handed out to impacted companies, have been hard to ignore. With a ransomware attack occurring every 14 seconds and with 55% of businesses in the UK alone facing a cyber-attack in 2019, it is clear that the ‘value’ of personal data is at an all-time high. Evolving cyber security threats require an adaptive response from consumers and businesses and it is therefore paramount that you fully understand when you are being asked to give up your personal data, as well as what is done with it once it is no longer under your control.

Although legislation, such as GDPR, has helped set out clearly what can be done with personal data – individuals must also take some responsibility and treat data like the precious commodity it is.

To learn more about how to protect your personal data, we have created these blogs, which offer you a great starting point to educate yourself further on this issue:

We have also created three blogs that focus on some of the biggest companies who have experienced data breaches and what to do if you think your data was compromised in one of these attacks.

IoT security

The Internet of Things is growing at a rapid pace and though the technology is not a new phenomenon, its current popularity is unprecedented with many of us now owning a whole host of the various connected objects, whether that be a smart speaker, a wearable device, or even a drone.

As one of the more recent areas of cyber security, it is sometimes unclear what legislation protects you from hacks or data infringements of connected objects. What’s more, the consequences of attacks on IoT devices can often be drastic, with one recent example being the Nest device of a couple in the U.S., which was taken over by hackers who raised the temperature to 90°F. To read more about securing your connected objects we have prepared the below posts:

Social Media security

Last but by no means least, security on social media is increasingly important, as social media accounts are powerful tools in the wrong hands and even if you yourself don’t use social media there is a strong chance that someone you know does. We’ve recently seen hackers take over the Twitter accounts of large corporations, using them for anything from basic spam to drawing attention to global issues. To help safeguard both your personal and corporate accounts you can implement our social media security best practices:

We hope this blog was useful and helps keep security at the forefront of you mind this Cyber Security Awareness Month. Also, don’t forget, if you have a question you would like answered you can ask the Just Ask Gemalto team via the online form here.