How to Stay Safe Online and Defend Against Common Cyber Attacks

October is my birthday month, but it’s also Cyber Security Awareness Month, a time set aside by the National Cyber Security Alliance to encourage everyone to take steps to protect themselves from cybercrime. From age 8 to 80, we are all at risk from some type of cybercrime. It's important to note that about 90% of cybercrime works by attacking people unaware of what threats are out on the web. This year, it's important to identify the top threats and how to protect yourself from them.

1. Credential Stuffing. The act of criminals stealing your user name and password information has made its way onto the dark web via the multiple data breaches that have occurred over the years. Criminals will then create 'bots' that will use your credentials to log into your online accounts.

How to stay safe: Change your passwords at least every 6 months and use a password management tool to keep track of all of your passwords and get alerts from when your passwords appear on the dark web.

2. Social Engineering. Not a viru