Like most things in life, cybersecurity is often taken for granted until it’s compromised. You go between two of the same old passwords you’ve been using for the past decade until someone cracks them. You leave your credit card information on any random shopping site until you notice suspicious charges on your bill. You gladly share personally identifiable information with any internet entity until you start receiving odd text messages at two in the morning.

These scenarios are frightening and more common than you may think – a cybercrime is committed approximately every half a minute, about 2,244 times a day. However, it’s easily preventable if you take the proper steps to ensure your cybersecurity.

Look at some of the worst cybersecurity nightmares of the past year and learn what you’ll need to do to stay safe.

The Colonial Pipeline Attack

Earlier in 2021, Colonial Pipeline, the largest fuel pipeline in the US, fell victim to a massive cyberattack that forced the company to help operations. The attackers, a hacker group known as DarkSide, compromised Colonial Pipeline’s billing systems, rendering them unable to charge the customers. Within just a few hours, the company paid DarkSide 75 Bitcoins (∼$5 million) to restore the systems.

The attack resulted in panic buying, hoarding, fuel shortages, and inflated prices, sending gas futures sky high.

The Nuclear Weapon Vulnerability

Back in May, journalists from Bellingcat discovered a fatal flaw in how US officers in charge of managing nuclear weapons in Europe memorize their security procedures. Reportedly, they created flashcards on some of the most popular study apps.

The flashcards contained information on patrol schedules, safe words, the weapon’s likely locations, ID badge details, and more. Many flashcards have been easily publicly available for the past eight years, and Bellingcat journalists discovered them by simply Googling key phrases relevant for nuclear weapons.

Bellingcat contacted NATO and the US military upon the discovery, and the cards have since been removed.

The $600 Million Poly Network Heist

Blockchain is commonly lauded for its transparency and safety, making it virtually impossible for anyone to compromise it once an action on the network has been confirmed. Still, virtually impossible leaves some room for error.

Poly Network, a decentralized finance platform that’s integrated Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, and other cryptocurrencies, was attacked earlier this year by a white hat hacker.

The hacker stole over $600 million worth of cryptocurrency from users of the Poly Network by exploiting a security flaw that allowed them to make unauthorized transactions. The idea was to keep the funds safe in a trusted account and force the Poly Network to enhance its security. The stolen cryptocurrency has since been returned to the original wallets.

Cybersecurity Safety Tips for a Good Night’s Sleep

All three of these significant cybersecurity nightmares highlight just how critical it is to up the ante on online safety. Everyone’s vulnerable online – from a teen shopping on a seemingly trustworthy eCommerce site to government agencies transferring vast amounts of top-secret data every single day.

The good news is that it doesn’t take much to improve your cybersecurity. Look at a few tips that will help you out.

Keep your connections private with a reliable VPN

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is the key to keeping your information private online. This app allows you to connect to any network safely by encrypting your data, hiding your IP, and redirecting your connection through secure remote servers. However, make sure that you’re using a reliable VPN service like Atlas VPN. It ensures secure connections, blocks ads and trackers, and evades unfair geo-restrictions and censorship.

Keep a backup for your backup

Any minor security breach can compromise your sensitive data and delete it. If you want to stay on the safe side, it’s critical to store important information in a secure location and keep a backup in case of an emergency. Ideally, you should frequently back up your data on a secure cloud and a local storage device.

Keep your passwords strong

Some of the most (seemingly) elaborate cyberattacks are made possible because of a simple user error, such as using a common password. “Password123”, “123456789”, and “0000” do not protect you in any way as anyone can easily guess them.

Make sure that your passwords are random, unique for every account, impossible to remember, and impossible to guess. Never use publicly accessible information for your passwords, such as your name, birthdate, city, or even the name of your first pet.

It’s in your best interest to use a password manager that can randomize your passwords and keep you protected.

Final thoughts

Cybersecurity nightmares are more common than you may think, and they can happen to anyone. No target’s too big or too small for the cybercriminals to attack. So, stay on the safe side, don’t take your cybersecurity for granted, and follow the latest cybersecurity practices.

Source: Plato Data Intelligence