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Here are some tips and tricks to avoid clicking on spam email links or opening malicious attachments.

• Use your work email to conduct work-related communication. Avoid using your personal email for work.

• Use email encryption to convert the message in your email from readable plain text into encrypted or scrambled text when possible. That process works using a public key and a corresponding private key. The sender encrypts the email using the public key and only the recipient with the private key can unencrypt the text.

• Aside from having a good antivirus program, it is essential to have a spam filtering program that checks the emails and attachments and also checks and validates the links in an email.

• Be on the lookout—check the sender’s email address. The sender’s email address may not show when you check your emails from your mobile device. It is a good practice to click on the name to verify the email address. Using the same name as one of your contacts but a different email address is an attack-vector of choice in a spearing or whaling attack.

• Look for spelling errors and grammatical mistakes in an email. Lately, the spammers and threat actors have improved their email writing styles. The emails could be well-written and formatted. You can, however, sense the tone of the emails as not being consistent with that of your contact.

• Some email providers like Microsoft365 give you the ability to add a subject line tag to a line in the subject line or body of the email identifying when an email has originated from outside your organization. That is a good visual reminder to use caution when opening an attachment or clicking on a link.

Use email encryption to convert the message in your email from readable plain text into encrypted or scrambled text when possible. That process works using a public key and a corresponding private key.

• Using Multifactor Authentication (MFA) is a must. MFA is another authentication challenge to an ID and a password challenge when checking your emails through a web browser. You can use an app like Google or Microsoft Authenticator or use SMS to receive a code. The code in the Authenticator app changes every 30 seconds to ensure your login access remains secure. Using MFA is a strong deterrent in preventing remote access to your email account.

• If you are concerned about an email, contact the sender through a different means to validate the request. That is a useful process especially when there is a financial transaction, such as when receiving wiretransfer instructions is involved. Threat actors on a compromised computer can change the wire transfer instructions to redirect the funds to another account.

• Be sure to backup your emails regularly. Threat actors can easily encrypt a compromised email account to extort money. It is important to know that it is your responsibility to keep your data backed up. Many email service providers do not backup your email account. Some may allow you to restore deleted emails but will not be able to restore an encrypted email account.

Other considerations to keep your device and login safe

• Login to websites that use HTTPS. You can identify those sites with a padlock on the left of the https://. You can go one step further and check the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificate of the website by clicking on the padlock to the left of the URL to ensure the site URL and SSL certificate are valid and they match. Avoid browsing websites if you get a certificate error.

• Limit access to your company Wi-Fi to your guests who are not employees. Provide a separate Wi-Fi access to your clients and your staff’s personal devices. Use Virtual Private Network (VPN) when using a public Wi-Fi.

• Avoid using the same passwords for multiple accounts. Storing logins and passwords in a password-protected Word or Excel file is not secure. Consider using a good password manager application like 1Password, Dashlane, Keeper, or similar. Those products are also offered at the enterprise level, where password sharing is required between team members in a department, e.g., accounting department requiring a login ID and password to various vendor portals to retrieve bills.

• Always make sure to keep your computers and devices up to date with the latest Operating System’s security patches and updates. In addition, ensure the software applications you are using are fully updated. Although there are Artificial Intelligence-based antivirus applications available, many traditional antivirus software applications, e.g., MacAfee, still rely on the virus definition database. Keep an eye on your antivirus subscription and ensure you configure your antivirus application to receive multiple updates daily. Avoid using free antivirus software as that may provide only basic security and some may gather your personal data.

Those are some ways you can protect yourself and your organization. Using a combination if not all the above methods will help you protect your email account, identity, data, and your organization.

Of course, each organization’s security needs may be unique to their environment with some commonality, so be sure to consult your IT support provider for additional tips, tricks, and strategies to keep your organization’s intellectual property safe.

You can report any spam and phishing emails to cyber.gc.ca or visiting CAFC’s website. www.antifraudcentrecentreantifraude.ca/report-signalezeng.htm ▲

Ramin Ahmed is an IT Solutions Provider with Inlet Technologies with over 20 years of experience providing IT services for small to medium businesses throughout greater Vancouver and beyond. www.inletTechnologies.ca

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