Did you know?
There have been data breaches across the industry in recent years. These data breaches involved education institutions, airline companies, government departments, banking and financial institutions, e-commerce corporations, web service providers, etc. More than half of the breaches were caused by activities directly attributable to human errors, including lost devices, physical loss and unintended disclosure. These breaches were arguably preventable through basic information security protection safeguards.
What can you do every day to protect data?
No matter what types of industry you are working in, you may need to transmit, process, access, and share such varying data elements. There is not “one size fits all” blueprint for information security controls that all industries can follow. Yet all members have a responsibility to know basic information security protections to safeguard data and prevent data from being mishandled.
Understand where, how, and to whom you are sending data
Many breaches occur due to carelessness. For example, accidentally posted confidential information publicly, mishandled or mistakenly sent confidential information to the wrong party. Protecting and safeguarding data according data classification when transmitting or posting data is critical.
Create complex and unique passwords
Use different passwords for different accounts, in particular those for handling confidential data.
Enable two-factor authentication
Two-factor authentication can prevent unauthorized access even if your login credentials are stolen or lost.
Protect your devices
Besides using password lock, it is also recommended to use some biometric technologies to protect your smartphone and tablet. It is critical to protect data from any unauthorized access of personal information, work email, or retail/banking applications. It also helps to protect your device in case you lost or misplaced it.
Update your computing devices
Please ensure that the operating system, web browser, and applications on all your electronic devices are updated to the latest version.
Getting ready to send data to a vendor or sign a contract?
In daily work, we are obligated to ensure that the University’s confidential information is properly protected, especially if we need to use an outsource service or a cloud service. If the service involves confidential information, you must consider the related information security technology before the project begins or signing the contract, which ensures the data is protected properly.
For more security tips, please visit our ICTO – INFOSEC website: https://icto.um.edu.mo/category/infosec-tips/
