Connect to cybersecurity this month

I think cybercriminals are probably looking at our world right now and seeing a target-rich environment. It’s the equivalent of walking down the street and seeing 15 cars unlocked with the windows rolled down.

George Chase, instructor, School of Information and Communications Technologies

As our reliance on our devices and tech-based services continues to grow gigabytes at a time, so do threats to our cybersecurity. Every day, companies and individuals fall victim to cyber-attacks, compromising their networks, devices, programs and sensitive data.

October is cybersecurity awareness month. With work, study and life moving increasingly online, now is a great time to increase your cyber-safety bandwidth, decode some of the latest trends in cybersecurity and find out how you can plug in to a new career #hereatSAIT.

Protect your data

Be cyber aware and keep yourself safe online with these basics for protecting your data.

• Lock it up. Never leave your devices unlocked and unattended.
• Browse safely. Only bank or shop on a device that belongs to you, on a network you trust.
• Monitor your accounts for suspicious activity. If something looks off, it could be a sign you’ve been compromised.
• Be wary of clicking on email attachments. If it’s unexpected or suspicious, don’t click on it.
• Secure your accounts with multi-factor authentication, a password manager or by using passphrases.

 

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A student capstone by Ahmed Almass showed hackers can easily break ordinary passwords, but passphrases like this one — with 25 letters, characters and numbers — proved more difficult to crack quickly.

In real life, Almass used four high-end graphics processing cards to create his password cracking machine. Read more in SAIT's LINK magazine: The race to protect data in the new normal

 

 

Be secure on social

Level up your security on social media with these tips from SAIT expert George Chase.

• Use different passwords for different social media websites. Don’t use your work email for any social media site.
• Don’t give out personal information, like your birthday. If a website asks for your birthday to create an account, make something up instead.
• Some websites ask for your email before you can access content. Create an email address just for that purpose, and don’t use it for anything other than website registrations.
• Use your favourite search engine to search your name, email address and social media usernames to see what someone could find out about you with a basic search — you may be surprised.
• Be careful about the comments you leave on websites — you may respond impulsively and regret the tone or content of the message later.

What’s trending in cybersecurity? Careers!

Even before COVID-19, cybersecurity analysts were among the top 10 most in-demand digital jobs in Alberta.

“We need people who are curious, motivated to learn and adapt,” says Catherine Loughlean, Director, Risk Advisory and Cyber Risk Services with Deloitte Canada. “We have a very diverse profession — with days filled with problem solving, learning and digging into things to look for more efficient and secure ways to reduce cybercrime.”

👉 3 things to expect from a career in cybersecurity

• no two days are the same
• continuous learning
• an ability to make a difference each day — even with the small things

 

🔒 Plug into an in-demand career

• Information Systems Security
• Information Security Analyst
• Cyber Security for Control Systems

 

🌐 Global trends in cybersecurity

• Cyber hygiene, automation, “secure by design” — get the low down on some of the key global trends in cybersecurity.

 

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Find out more about cybersecurity programs at SAIT

Closing the cybersecurity skills gap — our SAIT programs respond to the need for cybersecurity professionals.