Using technology has made us vulnerable to cybercrimes. According to the FBI, a 300 percent increase in cybercrime has been reported since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

There is a definite need to protect our devices and our data when online. Mentioned below are a few reasons why it’s imperative for you to invest in cybersecurity.

How do criminals get a hold of your data? They use malware, a malicious software program that is capable of transmitting your data, damaging components of the system, locking you out, and even letting the hacker take control of your device completely. There are different types of malware, like spyware, that monitor your activities and steal your data, including:

Ransomware

Denial of service

Man in the middle

Zero-day exploit attack

SQL injection

Every cyber attack uses different sneaky techniques to hijack your device, steal your data, and then kill your device.

Criminals steal your information by hacking into your accounts and devices or by other fraudulent means. They use your identity to apply for credit, make purchases, ask for loans, file taxes, and conduct unauthorized transactions. They can frame you for the crimes they’ve committed and leave you with a huge debt damaging your credit status. Here are a few types of identity theft you should be aware of:

Medical identity theft

Insurance identity theft

Financial identity theft

Social Security theft

Tax identity theft

The data you store on your device—as well as the data you store on the cloud—can easily be accessed if your device and accounts are not secured. The data security on many devices is poor and easily hackable. If you save your account credentials and passwords in your browser or save important documents in cloud storage, it would be best to implement encryption and use multi-factor authentication.

Devices that are connected to the same Wi-Fi network are vulnerable to cyber attacks. If hackers succeed in accessing the network, they can easily take over all the devices connected to the same network. Smart devices consist of software that is used to exchange data over Wi-Fi. It’s fairly easy to penetrate these systems. A smart home is a good example of such a network.

Sending e-mails or text messages is just another way cybercriminals try to access your device by tricking you to click on links. Clicking on the link activates the malware and lets it start to take over your device.

The presence of top-tier antivirus software on your device will be able to protect you from any malware attack. The best cybersecurity offers strong encryption of data, better passwords, and VPN services along with the feature of scheduling alerts on any suspicious activity on all your online accounts. Having partnered with Norton, Lifelock now offers their customers all the aforementioned services and some more advanced protection such as:

Monitoring and alerts for SSN, credit, and financial accounts

Getting free credit scores and annual credit reports

Scanning for identity theft and reducing junk mail

What’s more, you can take advantage of the best LifeLock coupon to date to save on their robust protection plans.

In the tech world, there will always be a solution, a way to counter cybercriminals that prevents them from causing you any damage. Cybersecurity provides you with those solutions. Safeguard your data and implement cybersecurity to continue safe online browsing.

I have over 13 years of experience with R&D, engineering, and people management, with increasing responsibilities in both leading industry labs and engineering organizations.