*First National Community Bank’s blog does not constitute legal, tax, accounting, investment or other professional advice. Recipients should consult their professional advisors for advice.
Cybersecurity is in the spotlight as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Despite awareness initiatives about cybersecurity threats, individuals and businesses alike remain especially vulnerable to hackers. First National Community Bank has outlined the top three cybersecurity threats and what you can do to prevent them from happening to you.
- Phishing: Phishing is when cybercriminals send emails and make phone calls trying to trick you into sharing personal information or financial data. To ensure that you always remain aware and ready to thwart such attempts, familiarize yourself with the telltale signs of phishing attacks such as unknown email senders, unknown phone numbers or strange email addresses that often contain a misspelling from the organization from which they are pretending to represent. It is important to keep your antivirus software updated and also remember that banks and credit card companies will never contact you to ask for your account information. Financial institutions will only ask you to provide this information to verify your identity when you call them directly.
- Ransomware: Ransomware is an ever-evolving form of malware designed to encrypt files on a device, rendering any files and the systems that rely on them unusable unless a “ransom” is paid to recover the data. To prevent ransomware attacks, be sure to regularly back up your files to separate systems from your primary network. This is especially important for businesses. It is also important to keep software updated and control the devices connected to your network.
- Cloud Data Breach: Also known as “cloud jacking” and occurs when hackers access files you've stored in the cloud to read, modify, or control your information. Sometimes hackers can place codes into your files that you unknowingly can download and infect your system with malware. To help prevent such attacks, it is important to have multi-factor authentication in which a third level of verification after entering your username and password is required.
Cybersecurity threats are on the rise and by taking steps the outlined above, you can help reduce the threat to your personal information and business. As your locally owned community bank of choice, the success of your financial future is top of mind. We offer Personal Checking Accounts, Money Market, Personal Savings Accounts, CDs, IRAs, Business Loans, Mortgages and Personal Loans of all shapes and sizes and much more! To learn more about First National Community Bank’s financial solutions, contact us here.