As we all weather this global situation, we are all finding great new ways of keeping teams connected and businesses operating.
Taking the traditional in-person meeting or catch-up online has seen some fantastic amounts of use for services like Zoom and Skype.
As there isn’t a cross-platform solution that lets users interact using their choice of video conferencing tool, not everyone gets to choose which platform to use and not all platforms share the same features.
Since the start of the Coronavirus pandemic official lockdown across the United Kingdom, the National Home Improvement Council (the NHIC) has run weekly drop-in sessions for all members so we can keep connected and give members our continued support and provide leadership though the developing situation.
It’s on security that this post is going to focus on, along with what the NHIC is doing on system security and some tips on what you can do as well.
With the surge in use for digital services that offer virtual meeting platforms, has come an understandable increase in the level of scrutiny on the security of these virtual meeting platform systems.
As with any event, there is lots of different advice out there and it’s easy to become unsure what to follow if you’re not familiar with the workings of digital technology.
On balance, services (like Zoom) and their policies were unlikely prepared for the initial surge in traffic – even though they handled the influx very well, despite some early technical issues.
Where perhaps more focus could have been placed initially was on overall security and privacy.
Since GDPR these things have been quite good. Recently Zoom has stated that it has paused all on-going development work and focusing all efforts on tightening the security of its platform for users. Which is great news.
Check out this great post from Wordfence (a leading WordPress security company) that gives you advice on best practices while using Zoom and how to configure the platform for higher security.
Here at the NHIC, our website and other systems are kept safe and secure with regular updates and we even perform penetration testing on our own services.
That means we regularly try to “break-in” and force access to the website and other systems we use.
That way we can make sure that we can better keep ahead of any potential threats and keep the NHIC, its members and users of our systems as safe as we can.
The NHIC cloud-based systems have server-side security software as well.
During this current global situation, it’s important to make sure that digital systems are kept in good working order and are safe.
Our work makes sure that the NHIC can carry on providing useful resources and support to its members across the board make sure that anyone using the website or cloud system is kept safe.
What can you do at home and in your businesses to keep things secure?
Here are some tips on web security:
Use a VPN to protect your personal info on your home Wi-Fi
A VPN, or Virtual Private Network connects your device to a server out on the internet and allows you to browse the web using that server.
If you connect to a server in the US or Norway for example (there’s lots of available servers around the world) you will be browsing the internet as if you were in that country.
It also shields your browsing activity from anyone that might be interested in what you’re looking at when you use public Wi-Fi. With public Wi-Fi it’s possible to intercept packets of information (that could contain account login details and other important data) that are being transmitted on the network.
Using a VPN protects you from this, your anonymity and keeps your data safe
I personally recommend NordVPN. It’s easy to use and setup is fast and straight forward. No technical knowledge required. Plus you can install on several devices as well. Other options include Private Internet Access and ExpressVPN.
Browse with the latest security updates
When a browser or operating system notifies you of updates, as annoying as they can be it’s important to install them as soon as possible to lessen the risk of being compromised while online.
Use strong, unique passwords
This one is a must. Passwords that are memorable can actually be more of a security risk. Even now, the combination of “admin” and “password”, or “password123” are still being used to secure several vital, mission critical systems.
A string of random characters, including both lowercase and capital letters with numbers and special characters is much more secure.
Password managers can help with organising your not-so-easy to remember passwords. Or you can keep an incrypted password list in a secure area of your preferred cloud storage service. Microsoft’s OneDrive has a secure vault.
Should I change my passwords regularly?
There’s good evidence for a Yes and a No on this one. If a system has been compromised, the attacker will generally set up back-door access that bypasses the need for knowing a password going forward.
The absolute best practice is to have a secure password, so it minimises the risk of anyone getting access in the first place.
Social Media:
One area where regular password changes are recommended is social media. Social platforms aren’t well known for their privacy record and often allow unregulated apps developed by unapproved sources to run on their platforms.
It’s important to make sure that your privacy settings are set high and that you regularly change your password. While any attacker cannot set up back-door access to your social profiles, they can access all your data that you have on those platforms.
Your website:
A lot of websites run on Content Management Systems (CMS) like WordPress, Drupal, Joomla to name a few. These platforms are regularly pushing out updates. It’s very important that these updates are put in place as soon as possible.
The security updates patch newly found security vulnerabilities that can be quickly exploited.
These CMS systems also allow for their functionality to be extended by use of plugins and extensions, which also require regular updates and maintenance to ensure a high level of security for not only just the website but it’s users and visitors as well.
By making sure that the NHIC website and cloud systems are secure, means that everyone using these services is protected as well. From NHIC members and their users, we help maintain the platforms from which the NHIC can continue providing support to its member base.
Clook Internet has been proudly supporting the NHIC digital real estate, including website developments, digital support and security since 2016.