ThreatConnex: How To Spot Cyber Threats

A strange login, an urgent message and an outdated device may seem unrelated. Good security judgement comes from connecting what the clues mean together. Security terms become useful when they trigger warning signals, helping you connect what you are seeing with the action you should take next.

Connect the warning signs

A spoofed sender, an unexpected login and a request for a one-time code may describe an attempted account takeover. At work, report combinations of unusual events rather than waiting for absolute certainty.

Apply the same thinking at home

A default router password, old firmware and an exposed smart device may form one path into a home network.

Take these steps to help protect your home network:

• Change the router’s default administrator credentials to help prevent unauthorised changes to its settings.

• Install firmware and software updates to address known security weaknesses.

• Use current Wi-Fi security settings, such as WPA2 or WPA3, to encrypt network traffic.

• Place guest or smart devices on separate networks where possible to help limit access to your main network.

For practical instructions on router passwords, updates, encryption and guest networks, read the US Federal Trade Commission’s guide to securing your home Wi-Fi network.

Explore the connections with ThreatConnex

This is why the final game rotation asks you to connect concepts. ThreatConnex is Prventi’s cyber security awareness grouping game. Arrange sixteen security terms into four hidden categories by identifying the themes that connect them. The full glossary opens at the end, whether you solve every category or not.

As Cyber Security Awareness Month draws to a close, the cyber security habits built should continue.

Keep using the vocabulary you have learnt, follow the known reporting route if you notice anything suspicious, and repeat the simple actions that make life more difficult for cybercriminals.

Join the global fight against cybercrime.

Play ThreatConnex

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