South African internet users and remote workers could massively reduce their cyber risk through two simple measures, namely: two-factor authentication and choosing an ISP that offers intrusion prevention services.
This is according to Andrew Wilson, CEO of LucidView, who says many South Africans seem remarkably complacent, or simply unaware, about cyber security in the face of rapidly increasing cyber risk.
“We see a lot of people working from home and using cloud services without taking the necessary precautions against hackers,” he says.
Wilson explains: “Hackers commonly take advantage of vulnerabilities in the operating system, or trick users to install something which gives them remote access so that it becomes a 'phone home' connection. Many laptops are likely compromised, but users just don’t know it yet because the hacker is usually after something specific and may wait to try to escalate their rights. They often try to do keystroke recording, whereby they gain access to the user’s username and password.”
“Another risk is associated with using WiFi in public spaces, where malicious actors can observe users, or use cameras to capture their username and password,” he says.
2FA to slash risk
“The easiest way to reduce one’s risk of being hacked significantly is to use two-factor authentication on cloud services,” he says.
“Instead of using single-factor authentication – simply a username and password – most cloud services have the option to activate two-factor authentication. Two-factor authentication is, in simple terms, ‘something that you know and something that you have’. The latter typically does a check against your cellphone, where you have to enter an acknowledgement to indicate that it is you logging in. Just by activating that, you're alerted if somebody attempts to log into your account. It's probably one of the most simple yet effective solutions that you can have to reduce risk when using cloud services.”
IPS for more secure home connections
Wilson says a second effective security measure is to have an intrusion protection system (IPS), ie, a security feature that effectively disconnects the hacker from one’s workstation, if the hackers do have unauthorised remote access.
“LucidView has many internet service providers (ISPs) using its IPS to better secure their customers’ connections,” he says. “LucidView's IPS very specifically targets those remote hackers that hop onto 'phone home' connections. It's a very simple concept – any connection that LucidView’s IPS doesn't recognise is blocked and reported by it. It is, therefore, very unlikely that a hacker is going to have access to the machine for long and it greatly reduces risk.”
Wilson says: “These two layers – two-factor authentication and IPS – will significantly reduce the risk of important information getting out of the organisation. Everybody in the country should demand from their ISP that it must provide an IPS, ideally a LucidView IPS.”
He adds that LucidView also has a content filter that allows users to manage and control internet content, for example, blocking pornography and implementing time-based rules for children.
“If your ISP doesn't give you this, find one that does, or contact LucidView for referrals,” Wilson concludes.
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