There are several reasons why cyber security experts urge people to change their thinking when it comes to security…

We are informed

Like many in their respective fields, we keep tabs on news and events in cyber security so we are more aware of the risks out there and the effects of malware and hacking.

Moreso, malware researchers, Red-team (white-hat) “hackers”, Incident responders, SOC operators and others are constantly exposed to vulnerable systems, malware and other threats as part of their job so they understand the necessity of keeping safe and staying alert.

I think I’m paranoid

While it’s true that for most people, nobody stalks them specifically, it’s known that internet companies, governments and cyber criminals gather information on all of us for different purposes.

Cyber criminals use public and stolen information to hack corporations and individuals, send malicious emails & links and spread malware (among other nefarious activities) since it’s worth a lot of money, $1.1M a minute to be precise, according to recent study.

Everything is fragile, nothing is really secure

Your operating system, software and apps mostly update regularly, partially because of vulnerabilities found and fixed, and as more devices connect to the internet and are not maintained properly, the surge of attack surfaces increases exponentially. Even a decade ago, devices like pacemakers were vulnerable and nothing really changed since.

Human mistakes, unawareness to secure coding, design flaws, bugs and misconfiguration are just some of the reasons systems and devices will not be completely secure anytime soon.

We verify, even when we trust

Cyber criminals use social engineering to increase the chances of successful attacks by making us believe that messages or emails we receive are from trusted sources like friends and co-workers are “innocent” so we’d open malicious links or files.

Also, malware authors increase the use of stolen certificates and even infect legitimate software before its release to spread malware through trusted websites and software vendors.

This shouldn’t prevent you from the benefits of technology with a grain of cautiousness and you can always use our tips and other posts to improve your security and stay safe.

Happy new & secure (Jewish) year.