Chapter 1: Passwords and Software
Good IT practices go first by personal vigilance.
- Diversify your passwords with capital letters, lowercase letters, numbers and special characters. Don’t choose an obvious password such as your date of birth.
- Don’t keep a list of passwords of all your software in an Excel file.
- Don’t postpone software and antivirus updates by not turning off your hardware. Try to turn off your computer as much as possible.
Chapter 2: Data Backup
It is also recommended to be methodical is conscientious to protect his information.
- Organize its shared folders in a structured way so that the network administrator can recover the archives in case of unfortunate deletion
- Save all your files on the shared files server.
- Make sure you saved and closed all your documents before leaving your office.
Chapter 3: Smartphone and Laptop
Good IT practices do not stop at the office door. Staying alert on the move will save a lot of time!
- Set a password to lock your smartphone in addition to your phone’s PIN and set the automatic screen lock.
- Don’t download useless apps on professional smartphone and check what data these applications can access in the phone
- Don’t pre-register all your passwords. It will avoid bad surprise in case of theft or loss.
- Turn off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth when not in use.
Chapter 4: Connectivity and Internet use
The use of the Internet is obviously to be done with skill.
- Prefer to connect to the Ethernet cable instead of Wi-Fi when possible.
- Be attentive when filling a contact form. Fill in only the minimum required and uncheck the option that allow the site to keep the data.
- Regularly check your security and privacy settings.
- Don’t surf on websites that are unreliable.
- Don’t connect your professional device on public Wi-Fi (open networks, airport, hotels, parks, …)
- Don’t use an anonymous USB stick.
- Never allow a stranger to connect his phone to your laptop while traveling.
Chapter 5: Emails and Attachments
Finally, the classic computer threats, beware of emails!
- Make sure there is an obvious link between the sender and its question.
- Don’t download attached files if the sender seems to be unreliable.
- Do not respond to a request for confidential information by email.
- Disable automatic opening of downloaded documents.
If you are the victim of a cyberattack, report the incident to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Center at 1-888-495-8501 or on the Canadian Anti-Fraud Center website.