Get Ready For More Hacks in 2018

No really, get ready. Do these security basics now, because online criminals are going to get even more aggressive next year.

After the year we’ve had, do you need any more convincing that your personal information is constantly being exposed to hackers?

It wasn’t just the Equifax hack, which leaked 145.5 million Social Security numbers, or the WannaCry ransomware attack that locked up our computers and demanded a ransom paid in bitcoins.

Even the security software on millions of our computers became suspect when, for example, the US government banned the widely popular Kaspersky Lab software over concerns about connections to the Russian government. And experts made us question whether we can trust the invisible systems that connect our devices to the internet, like Wi-Fi.

But as scary as all this news is, I don’t recommend putting your fingers in your ears and chanting “fa la la la” until the next hack.

The good news is that even as things get worse, you can still do a lot to protect yourself from many types of cyberattacks. In fact, it’s because these trends aren’t likely to turn around in 2018 that you should do all of the following:

• Start by backing up your photos, music and other important stuff. Also, update all your software. If you’re not doing these two things, the rest of this is useless.
• Next, learn how to adopt some of the increasingly easy-to-use tools for locking down your accounts, like authentication apps, Yubikeys and services like Google Now that come with an authentication tool built in.
• Finally, don’t give up on security software — you’ll still need it in 2018 with the way things are going.

Sound like too much work? You should really carve out some time for this stuff. Sadly, our security situation is likely to get worse, not better in 2018. Here’s how.

Ransomware Will Get Sneakier

As Ransomware gets sneakier, your backups will be even more important.

It’s hard to imagine how ransomware could get much worse. In the WannaCry attack, hackers used NSA hacking tools that leaked into the criminal underworld, repurposing them to launch ransomware at regular computer users.

FREE DOWNLOAD: The Growing Threat Of Ransomware

But the attacks will get stealthier. That’s because hackers are coming up with ransomware attacks that are harder for consumer security products to detect. Instead of running files on your computer that your antivirus software can flag as malicious, hackers will rely more on code that looks legitimate because it runs in programs like Microsoft Word.

Antivirus tools will have to catch up with that trend to protect consumers. But if you don’t want to wait for that to happen (and you shouldn’t), you can keep backups of your files on the cloud and on external devices.

RELATED: Keeping Your Data Secure in The Union Built Cloud

Backing up your data is always the best protection from Ransomware.

FREE DOWNLOAD: Keeping Your Union Office Safe From Ransomware

Data Breaches Will Continue

As data breaches will continue, it’s important not to rely on your passwords alone. The truth is, the passwords you use daily are a terrible security tool that we only rely on because nothing better has come along.

Fortunately, that’s beginning to change. More ways to log in and unlock devices came on the scene this year, and you can expect more in 2018.

Apple made the biggest splash here by introducing FaceID in the iPhone X — the first widely available device using facial recognition technology. FaceID raised privacy concerns and inspired attempts to fool the technology with masks. But if users find it as simple and intuitive to use as Apple’s Touch ID fingerprint system, it will add your face to the list of biometrics that can lock down your accounts.

Better Security Is Getting Easier

There’s another tool for keeping your accounts secure that’s getting safer and easier to use, though it’s not quite as futuristic and sexy as a 3D scan of your face.

It’s called two-factor authentication.

This system works by adding another step to your login process, so just having your password isn’t enough for malicious actors to get into your accounts. Yes, it’s more work. But if you use it, you’ll get to feel secure instead of scared the next time there’s a data breach like the one that, as we learned in October, affected all 3 billion Yahoo accounts.

Popular services are adopting more convenient ways for you to use two-factor authentication. In 2017, Facebook started letting you use a piece of physical hardware called a Yubikey to verify your identity. You plug in the device to your computer’s USB drive and tap it to get into your account. Google introduced Google Prompt, which lets you tap a button on your phone to verify your identity when you log into your accounts.

That’s way easier — and safer — than the industry standard of years past, which was entering in a one-time code sent by SMS to your phone.

Security Software Is Still Your Friend

Things got a little weird this year with security software like antivirus scanners and password managers. Kaspersky antivirus software was banned from US government computers and taken off the shelves by some retailers. Password manager LastPass patched a big security flaw, and OneLogin got hacked. And dozens of antivirus apps on the Google Play store turned out to be malicious.

Security software will continue to be a target for hackers, who would love to trick you into downloading a malicious tool with high-level access to your computer or phone. But that software is still the best (and sometimes only) way to stop some of the most prevalent hacking attacks.

Password managers are the most sensible way for you to use unique passwords on all your accounts. That helps keep one data breach at, say, Yahoo, from letting hackers access more of your accounts.

And despite concerns about compromised or outright malicious antivirus scanners, the software hasn’t outlived its usefulness yet.

All that being said, these steps only mitigate damage caused by hackers. As the companies that protect and store our data keep getting compromised, we’ll likely all receive another helping of apologies and free credit monitoring in 2018.

YOUR TURN

Were you impacted by a 2017 hack? What have you learned about staying more secure in the future. We want to know! Sound off on the Union Built PC Facebook Page or on our Twitter or LinkedIn feeds. And don’t forget to subscribe to our monthly UNION STRONG eNewsletter for articles like this delivered straight to your inbox. You may unsubscribe at any time.