October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month! All this month we are partnering with our colleagues in the DCC cyber group to provide tips and information for keeping you (and your data) cyber safe. You can read more on the cyber group’s blog and website, and don’t forget to check out their 31 Days of Cybersecurity, which will run all through October.*
Today we share 3 cybersecurity threats you need to know about–and how you can easily fix them yourself.
1.
I am looking forward to seeing many of you at the American Medical Writers Association conference in San Diego next month. If I see you at the airport, I hope it’s not at a public charging kiosk without appropriate cyber protection–because that cord that charges your phone also transfers data up and down. [Read more here.]
2.
Do you install extensions on your browser? They sure can be handy tools, but what do you really know about them? Find out which ad blocking extensions were found to be malware and how you can guard yourself against the threat posed to your online security by browser extensions. [Read more here.]
3.
Do you use Google Calendar? Many of us do. But did you know that a bug in the application makes you vulnerable to smishing? Safeguard yourself with two easy changes to your settings and, of course, vigilance. [Read more here.]
NCAM2019 will end . . . then what?
For weekly summaries of hot topics, check out the DCCCyberScoop. Links to existing issues are below, and you can get future issues delivered directly to your inbox by subscribing.
DCCCyberScoop Issue #3 (11 October 2019)
DCCCyberScoop Issue #2 (03 October 2019)
DCCCyberScoop Issue #1 (25 September 2019)
For more information on these and other cyber threats and what you can do to address them, you can go to their website.
To learn more about cybersecurity for individuals and small businesses, check out the Freelancer’s Guide to Cybersecurity and its list of resources.
*Our cyber group blogs about cyber threats facing professionals in our data-rich space, but does it in plain language. Most plain-language material is written for readers interested in protecting their family’s online privacy, which is actually quite different from the threats faced by consultants, freelancers, solopreneurs, and other small businesses. Our cyber group takes that plain-language approach and scales it up for the more rigorous threats these professionals face.
If you ever work remotely (as is common in grant writing/editing and academic spaces), or if you take your personal devices into your or your clients’ workspace, you should be picking up what the cyber group is putting down.
