Suzanne winning the Quiz at the Chamber Christmas Lunch
Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents according to Jo March in Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women.
Which traditions are sacrosanct to your Christmas? Delicious food, excellent company, carol concerts or perhaps a seasonal quiz?
If you are looking for some stimulation for your “little grey cells” to quote Hercule Poirot, look no further. As Computer Troubleshootersism all about IT support, here’s a little test of your Cyber Security knowledge.
Are you a cyber guru? Tot up your scores to find out. Answers at the end – no peeking!
1 What is *phishing*?
A: an email sent by hackers aiming to *hook* personal data
B: an email seeking compliments
C: angling for posh people
2 What does MFA stand for?
A: Most Fatal Aberration
B: Mixed Failure Alerts
C: Multi-Factor Authentication
3 Which of the following is the strongest password?
A: CT$75amGrSkmn8T& – used for 1 application only
B : Fido123
C: password
4 Your CEO emails you from a personal address asking you to send them your mobile number urgently. Do you:
A: reply promptly with your number. Your CEO is an impatient person.
B: Contact CEO directly by phone to check this is a valid email.
C: reply to the email to ask if this is a valid email.
5 You see an unidentified person in your offices. Should you:
A: Send out a company-wide email asking who they are.
B: Hope that someone else deals with them.
C: Find out who they are and if they need help.
6 What is the best way to back up your data?
A: Keep a copy of your files on your own computer.
B: Implement an automated backup including cloud and off-site storage.
C: Buy a backup drive and make a file copy when you remember.
7 You get an undeliverable message for emails you don’t recall sending. What does this mean?
A: Known as *backscatter*, it indicates that your email address has been *spoofed* (that is, someone else is sending emails which look as if they come from your email account although they don’t) but the targeted recipient address does not exist.
B: You probably did send the email – you are too busy to remember – and you misspelt the recipient address.
C: It’s just Outlook playing up again.
8 You are called away from your desk, leaving your laptop unattended. Do you:
A: Leave your laptop unlocked. You trust your colleagues not to meddle with it.
B: Lock it.
C: Leave your laptop unlocked and attach a post-it note with your passwords in case someone needs to access the bank
account.
9 You receive an email from a supplier informing you of a change of bank account. The address and signature look authentic. Do you:
A: Update the bank details straight away on your billing system.
B: Email back to the supplier to check that they have sent the email.
C: Phone the supplier to check if this is real or have they been hacked.
10 What is the point of Security Awareness Training?
A: It lets your company tick the boxes that it is dealing with Cyber Security so you don’t have to worry about it.
B: It gives you a few hours off work; makes a nice change.
C: It encourages you to think about the security implications of all the actions you take when handling company data.
Here are the answers. Give yourself a point for each correct one.
1 Phishing: A: an email sent by hackers aiming to *hook* personal data
2 MFA C: Multi-Factor Authentication – an extra layer of protection so that the password is not enough in itself to crack your account.
3 Strongest Password: A: CT$75amGrSkmn8T& – used for 1 application only. Better still if you use a password manager to generate and remember unique passwords for you.
4 CEO personal email: B: Contact CEO directly by phone to check this is a valid email.
5 Unidentified visitor: C: Find out who they are and if they need help.
6 Backups: B: Implement an automated backup including cloud and off-site storage.
7 Undeliverable emails: A: Known as *backscatter*, it indicates that your email address has been *spoofed* but the targeted recipient address does not exist.
8 Unattended laptop: B: Lock it.
9 Supplier bank account change: C: Phone the supplier to check if this is real or have they been hacked.
10: Security Awareness Training: C: It encourages you to think about the security implications of all the actions you take when handling company data.
How did you do?
Scored 10 out of 10 – you are a cybersecurity superhero! Don’t rest on your laurels though as the cybercriminals are relentless and will keep evolving their strategies.
Scored 3 to 9 – pretty good but you need to brush up on your daily practices.
Scored 2 or fewer – you need to be protected from yourself! Time to get some security awareness training and some good cyber security protection.
NOTE: Questions 4 + 9: the reason it is better to call than to reply to a suspect email is that the hacker may be controlling the email account. If you send an email to ask if it is legit, the hacker will reply to you to confirm that it is! Think of the hacker as the Big Bad Wolf hiding in granny’s clothes – this blog explains all.
A good New Year’s Resolution for your business would be to bolster your cyber security. Your Computer Troubleshooters are here to help.
Have a safe and brilliant Christmas!
Suzanne Rice, Computer Troubleshooters Tonbridge
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