October is European Cyber ​​Security Month

October is the European month dedicated to cybersecurity, a good opportunity to acquire new awareness and more details both regarding the risks faced by our data and the possibilities we have to protect ourselves.
The advice and suggestions arrive and are in line with the European Union’s European Cyber ​​Security Month (ECSM) campaign, now in its tenth edition and promoted in Italy by Clusit and Astrea, partners of the Security Summit which was held over the course of these weeks in Verona.

The importance of protecting yourself: backup, authentication, unique passwords and monitoring

The importance of back up regularly it must become an asset shared both by citizens, who risk losing their entire digital life if their smartphone or PC breaks down, and by companies as backups are crucial due to ransomware (a type of malware that limits access to the infected device), with which companies risk losing a large amount of information and sensitive data.
Data loss is among the most serious damages a business can suffer today. Over the years, some companies have organized themselves and periodically carry out backups, but they do not always manage them offline, so that any hacker who accesses the systems or ransomware cannot delete the data. In fact, protecting backups and guaranteeing their correctness is a condition for ensuring their effectiveness. Data loss, however, occurs in the event of accidents or carelessness: companies do not carry out backups cyclically, data is not stored in contexts other than those of the data they protect, attacks on personal information manage to reach even backups.

Another fundamental aspect to take into consideration is authentication. Citizens and companies must activate strong authentication mechanisms, such as Spid, so as to limit the possibility of credential theft with the consequent risk of access to personal, sensitive information and current accounts. A password used on a service of little value that presents vulnerabilities can be captured and tried again on, for example, home banking services: if the credentials match, the account is emptied. In fact, never reusing the same passwords on different sites is a good rule to follow which significantly reduces the possibility of cyber risk.
It is therefore advisable to use tools such as password managers that remember different passwords, so as to never reuse the passwords of important services on poorly protected services. Additionally, it is highly advisable to enable two-factor authentication.

Other an important issue is that of monitoring: It is essential to realize what is happening and at what time. When possible, SMS or notifications should be activated for each operation performed. These messages warn the interested party in real time of the access made to a specific service or of the operation in progress and this allows the potential victim to intervene promptly to reduce the damage.

All these operations must be carried out by both private individuals and companies. It is not enough to implement cyber defenses, but also monitoring systems to detect anomalous behaviors that indicate that something is happening and it is time to intervene to reduce or eliminate the damage.
More than data encryption, reputational damage or sanctions are the strongest lever for demanding ransoms. Therefore, taking some precautions into consideration is essential: even during ransomware attacks, companies that noticed them in time reacted and restored services quickly, reducing the damage to zero; However, those who noticed it after the data were published didn’t make it in time.

Therefore, adequately protecting the data contained within the memory of our IT devices through the adoption of simple but fundamental daily practices is essential. Professionals, institutions, companies, traders and all those who hold sensitive data of their employees and customers must ensure that the information they hold is safeguarded also through specifically designed insurance.

This is why Lokky created the Cyber ​​Risk Policyallowing the insured to protect themselves from cyber attacks and the consequent expenses and losses of data and confidential information. Furthermore, this coverage provides expert intervention for the recovery of lost data and decontamination from any malware. All these are services included in the Smart version, which has a maximum limit of up to €25 thousand. Lokky also offers its customers the possibility of taking out a Top version of the policy which provides for an increase in the limit up to €250 thousand and the inclusion of numerous additional guarantees, including a daily allowance for business interruption and coverage of expenses for restoring the company’s image.