With cyber-attacks on the rise, the need to secure our data is highlighted daily. Our increasing reliance on technology has come with some unsettling threats and unfortunate concerns. As your trusted financial partner, protecting your sensitive data is always a top priority. KHC Wealth Management takes proactive steps to educate ourselves on the latest threats so we can take every measure necessary to protect our clients and our firm. To that end, we want to help our clients reduce their own vulnerability by providing cybersecurity education, information, and tools.
Over the next few weeks, we will be sending you a series of informational articles that highlight the steps we are taking as well as ways to protect yourself and your sensitive data. This series will include the most updated information about:
*Cyber Shopping – Read before doing your online holiday shopping
*Password Management
*Email management
*Multi-layer protection strategies
*The future of security
It seems every day you hear a new, scary-sounding term for how hackers are breaking into our digital lives. That’s why we believe it’s important to put the scare tactics aside, and educate ourselves about what is going on and steps we can take to protect our data.
What are the real cyber threats and what do they mean?
*Malware – this term is short for “malicious software” and encompasses all forms of software-based threats such as:
*Viruses – Any program designed to enter your computer or network and damage, alter, transmit or destroy files and data.
*Phishing – A common type of fraud designed to gain access to login and account information. This is often attempted by impersonating a legitimate company, individual, or organization.
*Ransomware – Software designed to block access to a computer system until a sum of money is paid.
How do you manage the threats?
KHC uses several types of defense tools against malware. First, our client and firm data is stored within a firewalled network and we’ve implemented the most current antivirus and patch management software. We continually look for the best and most effective monitoring software. Also, we back up our data daily at a secure offsite location and monitor our systems 24/7. At KHC, we educate our team about threats, continually review and revise our policies in the event of a breach, and conduct regular training. This multi-layered approach includes added security for all endpoints – printers, scanners, laptops, desktops, tables and smartphones.
We also recommend that our clients and employees take protective measures with their sensitive data such as:
*Installing malware software on your personal devices.
*Backing up your information in the cloud, giving you online access to your secure archived data in the event of local hardware failure.
*Updating the software on your devices regularly to stay current with security fixes. You should also make sure your anti-virus software remains current. As hackers evolve and create new viruses, software updates will help protect you from new strains.
*Looking for website misspellings on common sites like OneDrive or Microsoft365, these are often only one letter off.
*Staying alert. If you think something is suspicious, don’t act on it. Verify the source through another medium.
Other ways to protect yourself include password management, email management, using multiple layers, which typically encrypt your data in transit and then again at the destination server. We’ll explore these in more detail throughout the series.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss these topics further, please call us (913) 345-1881.