COLUMBUS, Ohio — As the conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues to escalate, concerns are also increasing here at home about the threat to our online security.
What You Need To Know
- Money is always a target for thieves
- Phishing attacks remain a popular tactic for criminals
- Actively manage your accounts and ensure each has a different password
“The fact is that money is always going to be a target,” said C. Matthew Curtin, founder of the Interhack Corp. cyber security firm in Columbus.
In the more than 20 years Interhack has been in business, Curtin said phishing attacks, where somebody impersonates your bank or a company or agency you’re familiar with for access to your finances, are a tried-and-true method for criminals.
“They still happen because they still work well enough for the bad guys to get more money out of it than they put into the scheme,” he said.
Curtin said the best defense is to actively manage your accounts, including crypto wallets.
“Making accounts all over the place, willy-nilly, ‘I have accounts I don’t even remember I have,’ that’s not a good position to be in,” he said.
It’s also a good idea to use different passwords for every account you have. If you have a hard time remembering them all, Curtin said there’s nothing wrong with writing them down the old-fashioned way and keeping the list some place safe.
“A lot of people don’t think of it as an option because they think of it as ‘old school’ or just being paranoid,” he said.
When it comes to the internet, Curtin said it’s important to make informed choices about what services you use online.
“Asking yourself the question, ‘What am I getting out of this and what bad thing can happen if I proceed with this?’” Curtin said.
He recommends having a balance of digital and hard assets in case of any potential adverse events.
“If you are dependent entirely on electronic means to do things, well, if you’re dealing with a very widespread power outage, how are you going to be able to operate?” Curtin said.
The idea isn’t to eliminate risk entirely, but control what you can to react accordingly.
“Remember, just because you’re paranoid, it doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you,” Curtin said.
