Experts Warn Oklahomans About Importance Of Cybersecurity

Keeping a company secure is a responsibility that's becoming increasingly difficult. From medical centers to casinos, it seems no one is safe from cyberattacks.

Once an attack happens, experts said there are things we can do to counter. Personal responsibility is the best defense against an attack.

“We may not be able to get the types of resources that we are used to getting or that are usually readily available, if a company were to get hit with ransomware,” Crossroads Information Security CEO Catherine Sullivan said.

Lucky Star Casino joined the growing list of companies hit by a ransomware attack. Cybersecurity experts and forensic investigators sprang into action to counter the attack and let employees and customers know what had occurred.

“When you do something like that, you always leave a forensic trail, footprints in the dirt and there are lots of forensics people out there who know how to track backwards and find out who did what to whom,” Control Cyber CEO Teresa Rule said.

Sullivan said there are things people can do to protect their personal information.

“Have strong passwords,” Sullivan said. “The length of the password is more important than all of these weird characters that all of these sites want you to put in.”

Passwords should be 15 characters or more. If you forget them, you can use keychain or another secure system to store passwords.

“You can subscribe to a lot of different password managers or maybe your browser or your system already comes with one you can use that will help manage them for you,” Sullivan said. “Don’t write them down.”  

For those that want to take the extra step, they can set up a personal virtual private network (VPN) or firewall.

“Don’t allow your device to automatically connect to wireless networks. Make sure you know you are connecting to the right network,” Sullivan said.

It is also a good idea to regularly check your bank accounts and other accounts for suspicious activity.