We believe that it is our duty to help educate our clients on proper cybersecurity protocols to help protect their information and privacy. While we take adequate steps to ensure our office remains protected, a lot of damage can be done to our clients from their homes. We believe that adequate cybersecurity knowledge is important to protect your finances in this vastly digital world.
This is a safety measure that should be taken at all times to prevent any unnecessary damage. Also, since hackers are always trying to improve their strategies, it is important to stay up-to-date on the various types of attacks you may be exposed to. By doing so, you can better protect your financial information through cybersecurity best practices.
Identifying Common Cyber Threats
Hackers are becoming more and more creative in an attempt to steal a victim’s information. There are several strategies that they may use, and you can learn more about them broadly by reading this article on Top Internet Scams.
While you may never know which strategy may be used against you, it is important to know how to identify various types of malicious intent. A general rule of thumb is to do your due diligence before clicking on anything if you ever receive an email or message from an unknown source. Double-check the sender, verify the web address the link directs you to, or call the sender to verbally confirm they did indeed send the message and that you can trust the link. This is one of those situations where it is much better to be safe than sorry.
Recognizing Phishing Attempts
One strategy we want to mention specifically is phishing. Phishing is a potential threat that involves accessing a malicious website or link and providing personal information to the hacker.
For example, you may receive an email or text message from “your bank” that asks you to follow a link and update your password. This link may ask for your username, password, date of birth, social security number, etc. However, the link takes you to a fake website that may look like your bank, but it is not.
The hacker will use the information you input into the website to potentially access your accounts or attempt to steal your identity. Refer to the points above when you are unsure if you should trust a link. Hackers are getting more sophisticated, so these requests may look more legitimate as time goes on as they improve their attempts to appear as your bank.
Protecting Your Devices from Ransomware
Another concern we wanted to mention is Ransomware. Ransomware is caused by accessing malicious documents or websites that allow the hacker to obtain control of your device files.
This strategy is much more aggressive and direct by the hacker. An example of this would be receiving an email or text message asking you to review updated account details or status requests. The link or possibly even the attachment will initiate a ransomware attack on your device.
The goal of the hacker is to access your device to encrypt or steal your files that contain private information. They will either use these documents to steal your or someone else’s identity, or they will hold the documents hostage and require a ransom to release them back to you. We believe one of the best steps to defend against this type of attack is to have sufficient cybersecurity software. A strong device firewall or antivirus software can help protect against these attacks as they will not allow access to the device to untrusted users.
Cybersecurity Tips for Better Financial Safety
- We believe that adequate cybersecurity knowledge is important to protect your finances in this vastly digital world.
- Phishing is a potential threat that involves accessing a malicious website or link and providing personal information to the hacker.
- Ransomware is caused by accessing malicious documents or websites that allows the hacker to obtain control of your device files.
Financial Planning and Review Meeting
If you have any questions about cybersecurity, tax strategies, our 401(k) recommendation service, or other general questions, please give our office a call at (586) 226-2100. Please feel free to forward this commentary to a friend, family member, or co-worker. If you have had any changes to your income, job, family, health insurance, risk tolerance, or your overall financial situation, please give us a call so we can discuss it.
We hope you learned something today. If you have any feedback or suggestions, we would love to hear them.
Best Regards,
Zachary A. Bachner, CFP®
with contributions from Robert Wink, Kenneth Wink, and James Wink
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