3 Cybersecurity Tips Everyone Should Remember

What a pleasure to speak at Mastercard this week, conducting cybersecurity training for a warm and welcoming audience of over 1000 people. They gave me a tour of their facilities, including the Fusion Center and forensics laboratory.  I was impressed by their brilliant team and modern infrastructure, as well as the fun colors and lakeside view. It was a privilege to visit a company that is both historic and constantly pushing the bleeding edge of global technology.

During the talk, I shared my experiences from “Breaking & Entering,” by Jeremy N. Smith (We gave out 25 copies, like Oprah!) Stories included physical penetration testing, phishing attacks, and hunting down hackers within a network. We explored the dark web and showed videos of a hacker in our lab infecting a victim’s computer, spreading throughout the network, and stealing sensitive data. Seeing a hacker in action is always eye-opening!

Every single person in a company is part of your front-line cyber defense and can make a difference! We shared three tips that you can use to help stay safe at home and at work:

• Think Before You Click – When you receive a link or an attachment, stop and critically examine it before clicking. If you’re not sure, ask for help.
• Use Strong Authentication – Protect yourself with tools such as two-factor authentication and password managers.
• Nice Guys/Gals Aren’t Always Nice – We all like to be helpful and friendly! Remember that criminals act nice, too, in order to trick you. Stay on the alert.

The audience was super engaged and interactive! Everyone got a “Cyber Slap Bracelet” with tips about passwords or phishing to take home—a good reminder that employees need to be constantly vigilant. There were lots of great questions and follow-up conversations afterwards.

Thank you so much to Mastercard for your warm welcome and hospitality!