Remember Your Security ABCs

In the information security industry, we are provided plenty of top-lists and guidance that help us identify information security threats, and determine security controls to mitigate these threats.

This includes popular resources such as:

The ASD Essential Eight Strategies to Mitigate Cyber Security Incidents.
The Cloud Security Alliance The Treacherous 12 Cloud Computing Top Threats in 2016.
The OWASP Top Ten Application Security Risks.
The ENISA Top 15 Cyber Threats.
The Center for Internet Security Top 20 Critical Security Controls.
The SANS Institute Top 25 Software Errors.

However, there seems to be a lack of memorable security guidance for everyday people who use computing devices and the Internet. Not only that, most of the guidance hasn’t changed in the last 5 to 10 years and typically relates to the complexity of passwords or using anti-virus software. In addition to this, the guidance can often be impractical and prevent the device from being usable, so people just ignore it.

That’s why we created the following – as a small step to help everyday people be safer online, while being easy to achieve. It’s a simple phrase “Remember your Security ABCs”.

“Remember your Security ABCs”

A is for Auto-update
Turning on automatic updates for your software will massively reduce the likelihood of being compromised by malicious attackers, malware and viruses.

B is for Backup
Because we all make mistakes and we can all get a bit lazy. People accidentally delete files, spill drinks on devices, and click on buttons or links – but you don’t need to lose your information because of it. Whether it’s a traditional backup on an external USB device, or being resilient with a cloud storage service, have a Plan B.

C is for Controlled Access
When using devices and online services, use modern, convenient and strong access controls. Fingerprint sensors are brilliant for controlling access to personal devices, a good password manager makes creating and remembering passwords a breeze, and adding multi-factor authentication is the best for protecting the accounts you really care about.

For everyday people these three tips will go a long way to improving their security hygiene. It will encourage a set of good security behaviours, through some easily achievable practises, that can be built upon in the future.

Special Note: we have licensed the tips CC BY-SA – so that everyone can use them, adapt them, and take these tips further.

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