Cyber crimes and its preventive measures

What are Cyber crimes?

Cyber crimes are attacks made by black hat hackers who break into computer systems or gain unauthorized access to any system in order to steal, change or destroy information. Cyber crimes have been increasing since technology has evolved from analog to digital.

Some cyber crimes have a purpose, but most of them are done for power or for fun, gaining insight into the system for blackmailing, stealing or deleting data.

A hacker usually finds a backdoor in a system or finds a loophole in the firewall. No matter how strong the firewall is they always find a breach in the system.

Credits: VPN Geeks

Jack Foster for VPN Geeks has put together a detailed analysis of 2018’s cybercrime statistics. Read here.

Here are some preventive measures to be taken to avoid
CYBER CRIMES:

• Make sure to use a strong password with combinations of special characters and numeric values for authentication purpose.
• Always use a firewall on your computer to protect it from hackers. Almost all of the Antivirus Softwares come with an inbuilt firewall, use it to your benefit along with the one that comes with the router.
• Always use a secure and encrypted channel for sending personal data or messages
• Use an antivirus software and always keep its database up to date as virus definitions keep on changing.
• Disable or unplug your camera, microphone, and GPS if you aren’t using it.
• Secure your mobile phone by using the inbuilt security feature. By activating password on your system, you can prevent hackers from accessing your phone.
• Don’t share your bank account number and debit/credit card password or CVV to anyone, even if someone calls and says they are from the bank. Don’t swipe your debit/credit card at an untrusted ATM.
• Make sure to surf & shop only trusted, secure websites and never click on untrusted pops-up or ads. Always clear your session data, i.e. cookies and saved passwords. Using Internet security antivirus helps. If the website has an SSL certificate, the site is secure.

Having an SSL certificate is the best way to make your website immune to cyber crimes and prevent hackers from gaining access to your website. The Purpose of Using an SSL Certificate is to establish a secure connection between the user and the server. Here is Why You Should Upgrade from HTTP to HTTPS.

“Surf safe on the Cyberspace”

— Darrel Silveira