October is the season of pumpkin-flavored everything, scary Halloween movies… and cybersecurity! October is officially the start of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and we understand the importance of keeping your information secure throughout the mortgage process and beyond. Here are a few easy steps from the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) that you can take to protect yourself and your information:
- If you are unsure whether an email request is legitimate, try to verify it by contacting the company directly. Contact the company using information provided on an account statement, not information provided in an email.
- Protect all devices that connect to the internet. Along with computers and smartphones, gaming systems and other web-enabled devices also need protection from viruses and malware.
- Unique account, unique password. Having separate passwords for every account helps to thwart cybercriminals. At a minimum, separate your work and personal accounts and make sure that your critical accounts have the strongest passphrases.
- Protect your $$. When entering your financial information online, be sure to check that the site is security enabled. Look for web addresses with https:// indicating extra measures to help secure your information.
- Keep security software current. Having the latest security software, web browser, and operating system is the best defense against viruses, malware and other online threats.
For more cybersecurity tips, visit: https://staysafeonline.org/
