IVC tech talks on National Cybersecurity Month
IMPERIAL — When in doubt about the difference between phishing and fishing, Imperial Valley College (IVC)’s Cyber Security Specialist, Jonathan Singh, gave recommendations for typical online threats during National Cybersecurity Month.
Since 2004, the President of the United States and U.S. Congress have declared October to be Cybersecurity Awareness Month, according to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) website, cisa. gov.This year’s campaign theme – “See Yourself in Cyber” – demonstrates that while cybersecurity may seem like a complex subject, ultimately, it’s all about people.
“Everyone has a camera, the RING doorbell, and so just as you do with your physical security, you want to do with your online security,” Singh said.
Singh said one of the most common cyber attacks on users is phishing, where a malicious phisher will send a message pretending to be an entity or person that you trust.
One sign to help detect phishing this is through suspicious attachments or links, Singh said.
“If you’re not expecting an email from this entity or person and has an attachment, it’s better to crosscheck that with the company or with the person that is sending it,” he said.
Singh recommends users to enter the website, haveibeenpwned.com, where you can log in an email and it will search for cyber attacks to see if your account shows up.
An opportunity used by cyber attackers is a habit by many users; having one sole password for all platforms or applications.
“Is this account linked to your bank account? Facebook? Instagram?” Singh asked. “They will try and hack into all of it and pull as much information as they can. You want to try and create a unique password for all accounts that are important to you.”
Singh suggests multi-factor or two-step authentication. CISA defines this as a “layered approach to securing data and applications where a system requires a user to present a combination of two or more credentials to verify a user’s identity for login.”
“Turn it on,” Singh said. “It’s an extra step, that adds over 90 percent more security to your account,” Singh said.
As a security system specialist, Singh sends periodic messages to the campus community. During Cybersecurity Month, Singh implements multimedia in his emails to keep cybersecurity awareness going on campus.
Imperial Valley College will soon offer a Cybersecurity Certificate to keep an organization’s information technology infrastructure functioning and secure.