2020 has been a year of change. The pandemic has altered the way we live and changed how we work, learn, interact and operate. Due to the pandemic response, many businesses have implemented or expanded work from home options. Here’s what you should know to stay cyber secure with work.

Photo showing 17% increase in data breaches in 2019.

According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, “Businesses face significant financial loss when a cyber attack occurs. In 2019, the U.S. business sector had 17% increase in data breaches: 1,473 breaches.”

Whether your employer provided a device or you use your own, the concepts of security remain the same. Here are the top ways to stay cyber secure with your work devices.

Be careful

It’s vital that you be extremely cautious with your employer’s data and follow any company policies or security recommendations like our FBTC Security page. Data breaches are more likely to occur due to a single security weakness than an organization being attacked. Don’t click on links that you aren’t familiar with or those from an unknown sender. If you are even remotely hesitant or think something looks off, contact your IT team for help.

Separate work and personal activity

Employees should avoid personal activity on their work devices. Using your work computer for social media, shopping, making payments or any other non-official business will not only put your personal information at risk, but also put your company’s security at risk.

Rather than using your work device for personal use, you can eBank from your phone or personal device using the FBTC Mobile App and check your balances, make payments, transfer funds, or even deposit checks.

Strong passwords

As mentioned in our blog post, Staying Cyber Secure With Internet-Connected Devices, strong passwords are typically the only thing between your information and a hacker. Most importantly, don’t blend personal and work passwords. Use unique passwords that include a mix of capital and lower-cased letters, numbers, and characters.

Keep your devices up to date

Updates to your devices aren’t just for new features – they are also commonly used for security fixes. They can improve the stability of your device and help keep your information secure.

It’s so easy to let our guard down with good security practices when in the comfort of our home or on our own devices.

Cyber Security with First Bankers Trust Company, N.A.

We understand the importance of your bank accounts and to do our part to help keep your information secure, our customers can use our encrypted site (look for https in the url), user name and password authentication plus behavioral and device multi-factor authentication, detailed verification at time of sign up, and additional security questions at account access. Plus with the FBTC Mobile App, you can safely use biometrics like face or fingerprint ID.

For tips like these and more, visit our Security and Alerts page. Have questions or need help? Submit a Contact Us form and our team will be in touch!