Do not deny it. ‘We’ all spend time online. A lot of it. At work. At home. On our ‘smartphones.’ Morning, noon, and night. Weekends and holidays. 24/7.
And with each login we voluntarily expose our workplaces, homes, and lives to risks. To risks of hacking, spoofing, phishing, identity theft, financial fraud, and as many scams and schemes as devious actors can imagine. Which will only increase as society moves ever closer to second-nature digital, block chain, and cryptocurrency transactions, endless virtual interactions, and, more mundanely, to a widespread ‘internet of things’ (meaning ones’ vehicles, door cameras, appliances, air conditioning systems, and more). (Which this writer admits as he has the television program “Humans” 1 about synthetic artificial intelligence ‘people’ playing in the background.)
As a result, in order to proactively protect against those risks, all businesses, families, and individuals must continuously and vigilantly take measures to (1) update trusted protective ‘anti’ (virus, malware, spam ware, adware, ransomware) and BIOS programs, (2) automatically or intentionally conduct system checks with those programs (full disclosure: this writer is doing just that on his personal computer as he composes this article, and does so weekly), (3) attend to risks which emerge during system checks (such as quarantining ‘bad’ files), (4) update access passwords, and (5) back-up data to the cloud or a separate storage device (kept separate from the source unit).
‘We’ are not alone in this. Not at all. To help in that regard, October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, organized by the federal Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency.
Here is CISA’s explanation of NCSAM 2020:
Now in its 17th year, National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM) continues to raise awareness about the importance of cybersecurity across our Nation, ensuring that all Americans have the resources they need to be safer and more secure online.
NCSAM Theme and Schedule
CISA and the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) are proud to announce this year’s theme:
“Do Your Part. #BeCyberSmart.”
This theme encourages individuals and organizations to own their role in protecting their part of cyberspace, stressing personal accountability and the importance of taking proactive steps to enhance cybersecurity.
NCSAM emphasizes “If You Connect It, Protect It.”
So now a question to Floridians. What will you do – starting right now – to protect your online life? Do you lock the doors of your offices and homes? Do you maintain them? Then do just the same with your devices and networks. To repeat (and reinforce) NCSAM’s theme, Do Your Part. #BeCyberSmart.
Now logoff and go outside.
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1 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4122068/. ‘P.S.’ This series is thought-provoking, a bit creepy, and just plain fun to watch.
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– For more information, call our attorneys of the Gainesville, FL office of Bogin, Munns & Munns at 352.332.7688, where he practices in the areas of business, banking, real estate, and equine law. He has taught business and real estate law courses at the University of Florida Warrington College of Business Administration and Levin College of Law and is the President-Elect of the Eighth Judicial Circuit Bar Association.
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