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Working from the sea this summer? Here’s how to protect your data

With the arrival of warmer days, homes become a more frequent target for thieves – in the absence of owners, houses and apartments are broken into, money and jewelry are stolen, sometimes even electronic devices. However, during the summer months when more people work remotely, the risk of cyber attacks also increases due to potential lapses in attention.

That is why July has been declared as ransomware awareness month, a type of cyber attack in which the attacker blocks access to the computer and data until the victim pays a certain amount of money, all to ensure that people do not forget the dangers lurking in the digital world during moments of relaxation, whether they are on vacation or not.

Flexibility, but also danger

As noted by Samsung, data from recent research indicates that between 2019 and 2021, the number of people working remotely tripled. Some users work from the comfort of their own homes, while others choose other stimulating environments.

According to a recent survey by BDG Studios/OnePoll of over 1,000 respondents from the generation in the U.S., nearly 10 percent of respondents stated that a café or restaurant is their favorite place to work outside the office. While such modern work models and alternative work locations have been on the rise in recent years, on the other hand, the increase in this trend draws attention to growing cybersecurity issues.

Certain studies indicate that as many as 61 percent of respondents store their work files on personal devices, while 63 percent of respondents highlighted that they log onto the first available public Wi-Fi network. Logging onto an unsecured network with an unprotected device can put user data in serious danger. Therefore, Samsung provides several simple steps for data protection for people who practice working outside the office.

VPN

Set up a virtual private network or VPN for your company’s network. After setting it up, ensure that everyone accessing the company’s network first goes through the established VPN.

HTTPS protocol

Check if the company uses the HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) protocol for its website and related applications. This way, login data and other personal information remain hidden from phishing and MITM attacks. Phishing attacks involve stealing user data such as passwords and credit card numbers using deceptive methods (social engineering), while MITM (Man-in-the-middle attack) refers to an attacker being between two parties who believe they are communicating with each other.

Mobile hotspots

Instead of an unsecured public Wi-Fi network, use mobile hotspots that provide an additional layer of security thanks to Wi-Fi Protected Access 3 (WPA-3) encryption. This feature makes browsing the internet safer, even on public networks, ensures encryption of at least 250 megabytes of web traffic per month, and blocks tracking applications.

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