Cybersecurity Readiness: Harden Your Digital Domain Against Disasters and Bad Actors

The good news: the actual apocalypsageddon hasn't happened yet. The bad news: You may already be attacked by malicious actors without even realizing it! If you use the internet at home or on a mobile device, or have devices on a home network – and who doesn't? - then there is a good chance that you have been or will be the target of hackers or scammers. Here are some basic cybersecurity tips to help you stay protected.

Broadband errors

Most home users are connected to the Internet through a broadband modem/router, either with its own Wi-Fi capabilities or with an external Wi-Fi router attached. This is the number one threat vector in your home network, so never use the default password! Reduce your vulnerability by choosing a strong but memorable passphrase, 15 characters or longer, for the router's administration functionality. You should also update your router's firmware: manufacturers regularly release updates to fix newly discovered vulnerabilities, but if you're not up to date, you're by definition potentially vulnerable.

Network badness

If your broadband modem includes Wi-Fi capabilities or if you have a separate Wi-Fi router, you will also need to take steps to protect your wireless data. Although WEP, WPA, WPA2, and even the latest protocol WPA3 have proven capable of cracking under specific circumstances, WPA2 Wi-Fi encryption is more commonly supported by devices and is probably sufficient in most situations. Most sensitive internet traffic is sent over HTTPS, so it will be encrypted even in the extreme scenario where someone might be eavesdropping after tapping into your router.

Adding a VPN (a virtual private network that protects your data on public networks, or even your private home network) can provide another layer of security. Consider an alternate DNS to protect your family from malware as well.

Many Wi-Fi routers incorporate guest network functionality, which provides a connection to visitors isolated from your private network, so you can share without over-sharing. With Amazon acquiring Eero and Ring, Google similarly acquiring Nest Wi-Fi and connected home devices, and most modern routers collecting user data and using it for marketing, with some sharing it or even selling it to third parties, you might want to spend some time thinking about what devices are on your network, what they're doing with your data, and how much you trust those companies.

Compromised Internet of Things

If you use IoT devices such as 3D printers, smart devices, or your own Raspberry Pi or other connected projects, consider creating a separate VLAN so they are protected by a firewall of your primary computers and limit their port usage to the minimum required for their particular application.

If the idea that these simple devices are a threat seems far-fetched, not too long ago 3D printer owners around the world woke up one morning to find that their printers had been compromised by a popular plugin, up to and including find impressions they have not authorized on their machines. No lasting damage was reported, but the same exploit could have sent malicious commands, such as overheating beds and hotspots, and causing severe damage to devices and property.

Forget your passwords

Passwords are ubiquitous these days, and trying to remember them all can be a huge challenge. One way to solve this problem is to use the same password for everything, but this exposes you massively, because a password hacked or obtained on a service (for example, via recent Facebook or