CYBERSECURITY BEST PRACTICES FOR CUSTOMERS
Cybersecurity incidents and data breaches in the U.S. are at an all-time high. As a matter of practice we take numerous precautionary steps to safeguard your privacy and personal information, which includes routine security evaluations and using security specific practices to protect our systems.
You can play an important role in helping to reduce the risk of a cyber-attack or breach by following a few of the simple principles we have listed below.
CREATE COMPLEX PASSWORDS AND CHANGE THEM FREQUENTLY
- ESTABLISH LOGIN CREDENTIALS FOR YOUR ONLINE ACCOUNTS
- USE COMPLEX PASSWORDS (EIGHT (8) CHARACTERS LONG OR MORE WITH A COMBINATION OF NUMBERS, SYMBOLS AND UPPER AND LOWER CASE LETTERS)
- CHANGE PASSWORDS OFTEN AND AVOID USING THE SAME PASSWORDS ON VARIOUS WEBSITES
- DO NOT USE NAMES, DATES OR WORDS RELATED TO YOU OR YOUR PROFILE
- DO NOT SHARE YOUR PASSWORDS WITH ANYONE ELSE
BEWARE OF PHISHING SCAMS THAT REQUEST PERSONAL INFORMATION IN EMAILS, TEXT AND POP-UP MESSAGES
- REPUTABLE COMPANIES DO NOT REQUEST CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OR REQUEST PASSWORD RESETS OR COMPUTER ACCESS OVER EMAIL
- BE CAUTIOUS OPENING ATTACHMENTS OR CLICKING ON LINKS IN EMAILS
- VERIFY THE VALIDITY OF SENDERS AND THEIR URL (INTERNET WEB ADDRESS)
USE UP-TO-DATE SECURITY SOFTWARE AND ANTI-VIRUS PROTECTION
- USE SOFTWARE PROVIDING 24/7 ONLINE PROTECTION
- USE SOFTWARE WHICH PROVIDES CONTINUOUSLY UPDATED PROTECTION
- USE A FIREWALL (HARDWARE/PROGRAM) TO PROTECT YOUR COMPUTER
REGULARLY REVIEW YOUR ACCOUNTS FOR UNAUTHORIZED ACTIVITY
- PERFORM REGULAR REVIEWS OF ALL BANK, CREDIT CARD AND FINANCIAL ACCOUNT STATEMENTS
- USE ALL AVAILABLE CONFIRMATIONS AND ALERTS TO CATCH SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY
- REPORT UNUSUAL OR SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY TO THE SERVICE PROVIDER PROMPTLY
- USE INFORMATION RESOURCES SUCH AS www.identitytheft.gov/steps OR www.OnGuardOnline.gov (Protections for Personal Computing Devices and Networks)