As part of their regular event series, Champlain National Bank enlisted the help of Twinstate Technologies to host “Learn to Protect Yourself Online.” The event kicked-off on Wednesday, August 9th after hours at Champlain National Bank’s Route 3 location in Plattsburgh.
“These events are free and open to the public,” said Jacqueline Hallock, VP and Director of Marketing at Champlain National Bank. “We believe this topic is on the minds of a lot of people.”
With cyber breaches and hacks happening to people every day, all over the globe, it’s no wonder that cybersecurity is a top concern for businesses and private users alike. Nowadays, you’d be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t know someone who has been hacked or even been hacked themselves. But, the real questions that plagues people are, “How do I protect myself?” and “What do I do if I become a victim?”
It is this concern that prompted Twinstate to take the opportunity to speak to an anxious audience. Alex Insley, Unified Defense Strategies Technical Manager at Twinstate Technologies, presented to an audience ranging from concerned business owners who were looking to increase their knowledge on cybersecurity to community members interested in how they can apply cybersecurity best practices at home. Other participants included bank employees looking to seek more information as the New York State Financial Regulation date of August 28th vastly approaches.
Insley walked the crowd through the top cyber concerns that we should all be aware of whether you work in a specific sector or are wanting to make your home network more secure. Major concerns in 2017 include the Internet of Things (IoT), email, social media and internet scams, and stealing intellectual property all the way to international affairs and ISIS.
Insley went on to highlight ransomware and why it is the most common form of malware seen from cyber professionals today.
“Cybersecurity and ransomware specifically aren’t just concerns for a high-profiled business or individuals like a celebrity anymore,” said Insley. “Make no mistake, these cyber criminals are smart, they’re everywhere, and they are looking to make a lot of money.”
Learning to protect yourself online is more critical than ever for both businesses and home users. 
Last year alone, experts say that ransomware attacks earned between one and two billion dollars for hackers with that figure estimated to go up exponentially in 2017, making it more profitable for them to commit cyber crimes than it would be for them to sell drugs.
“This is truly a business to hackers, and they’re good at what they do. It is critical that people know what to recognize to lower their chances of being attacked,” said Insley.
Insley stressed the importance of regular patching of your operating system and the programs running on your computer. He then went on to highlight software and services to help home users protect themselves and recommended several reputable products. For password protection, LastPass is a great tool to not only keep you safe when creating accounts online, but it also saves the user from having to remember several complicated passwords. Another highly recommended security software is Sophos Home. This is free to all Mac and PC home users and is one of the most credible network security solutions available. Backing your information up regularly is also just as important as protecting it. Insley recommends Mozy or Carbonite for secure backup solutions.
Originally published on 08/14/2017
Topic: Cybersecurity, Ransomware, Cyber Security, Champlain National Bank, Protect yourself online
