As Valentine’s Day approaches, love is in the air—but so are potential cyber threats, scams targeting unsuspecting consumers. In a world where emotion always comes before logic for most people on one hand, and phishing emails and malware lurk in the shadows of our inboxes on the other hand, it’s more important than ever to stay vigilant and safeguard personal and professional information.
Christian Reilly, Field CTO EMEA at Cloudflare, the connectivity cloud company, shares invaluable tips to help consumers navigate the digital landscape safely:
- Beware of Tempting Emails: Whether it’s a “Love” note or a promise of a surprise present or gift, be cautious of emails that seem too good to be true in your work and personal inbox. Cybercriminals often use these tactics to lure users into clicking on malicious links or attachments.
- Think Before You Click: Resist the urge to click hastily. Clicking on suspicious links or attachments could compromise your personal information or even infect your device with malware. Take a moment to scrutinize the sender and content of the email before taking any action.
- Act Quickly if You Suspect Malware: If you’ve accidentally clicked on a suspicious link, swift action is key to mitigating the potential damage.
If you clicked too fast on a suspicious link:
- Disconnect your device straight away from the internet to stop malware from spreading
- Back up your sensitive data and remove it from the device
- Scan your device for malware and run an antivirus program to check your system
- Change all your login details, starting with the account on which you received the malicious link
- Make sure your passwords are long and complex to strengthen your security
- If it happened by using the device of your professional organisation, don’t hesitate to immediately contact your CISO. Instead of being upset with you, your CISO will thank you for giving the alert.
