As smart property investors it is important that we take the time to continually keep up to date with not only what is happening in the real estate market, but also technology in general.
Our assets however, are more than just our investment properties - assets are our superannuation funds, shares, cash in the bank, as well as our family and friends. In addition to these traditional assets, a key asset we hold in today's technological world is your personal data: your digital history, passwords, personal information, secret phrases & more.
Personal data (outside of cash that is slowly being eliminated) is essentially the new currency of the world. In this regard, we all need need to do our part in remaining vigilant, aware of and protecting against data breaches, hacks and other malicious activity.
We urge you to take a moment to be aware of this, because hackers ARE becoming more and more prevailant. Unauthorised users are breaking into computer systems, laptops, iPhones, iPads and anything else connected to the Internet; in order to steal, change, observe or destroy information.
Cyber attacks and breaches can come in various formats - some will attempt to install malware on your computer, locking it down after visiting unsecure websites. Others will be as simple as emails pretending to be someone you know, in the hope of gaining payment or other personal information. It is important to remain vigilant as cyber attacks are becoming increasingly more creative.
SMART TIPS TO BE ONE STEP AHEAD…
These tips are some of the simple ways that you can protect your assets, data and information.
1. Check that all of your devices have virus protection software.
2. Do not open any email attachments that appear suspicious or links which direct you to enter your userame and password to "access". Opening an email attachment can download malware to your device to monitor and extract information, and more.
3. Ensure that you use strong passwords that are unique and different. Avoid using a couple of common, similar passwords for everything and avoid using passwords that contain common knowledge, such as the name of your pet or model of car.
4. Keep your device software up-to-date - If your iPhone or PC has updates to their operating system available, it is advised to update these ASAP.
5. Be mindful of what you are posting on social media. Hackers want to obtain personal information to access your bank accounts (including superannuation funds). If you are sharing you pet's name, date of birth or your mother's maiden name online, this can allow a hacker direct access to sensitive information used to identify you in security questions.
6. Educate yourself on the settings, functionality, features and applications of your devices.
7. Make sure the Internet access to your devices is strong and protected with a complex password or even consider a VPN, which is an additional layer of privacy to help in stopping hackers getting your data at work or in the home.
8. Where possible, introduce 2-Step Verification/2-Factor Authentication on your accounts. This is an additional layer of security to protect you if a hacker obtains your passwords - any account logins from new/unrecognised devices/locations will require an additional code to be sent to your phone, email or via an authenticator app.
9. Avoid saving your passcodes online.
10. Utilise face recognition, fingerprint scanners and make sure any apps with sensitive information or data have your password codes turned on.
Technology in all its glory, good and bad, is here to stay… just be smart, aware and safe with your data.