Section VI: Cyber Hygiene

Cyber hygiene is often compared to personal hygiene. Much like an individual engages in certain personal hygiene practices to maintain good health and well-being, cyber hygiene practices can keep data safe and well-protected. In turn, this aids in maintaining properly functioning devices by protecting them from outside attacks, such as malware, which can hinder functionality. Cyber hygiene relates to the practices and precautions users take with the aim of keeping sensitive data organized, safe, and secure from theft and outside attacks.

Definition of Cyber Hygiene

Cyber hygiene is a reference to the practices and steps that users of computers and other devices take to maintain system health and improve online security. These practices are often part of a routine to ensure the safety of identity and other details that could be stolen or corrupted. Much like physical hygiene, cyber hygiene is regularly conducted to ward off natural deterioration and common threats.

Benefits of Cyber Hygiene

Having a routine cyber hygiene procedure in place for your computers and software is beneficial for two distinct reasons - maintenance and security.

Maintenance is necessary for computers and software to run at peak efficiency. Files become fragmented and programs become outdated, increasing the risk of vulnerabilities. Routines that include maintenance are likely to spot many of these issues early and prevent serious issues from occurring. A system that is well-maintained is less likely to be vulnerable to cybersecurity risks.

Security is perhaps the most important reason to incorporate a cyber hygiene routine. Hackers, identity thieves, advanced viruses, and intelligent malware are all part of the hostile threat landscape. While predicting threats can be challenging, preparing and preventing them becomes feasible with sound cyber hygiene practices.

Best Practices: A Cyber Hygiene Checklist

While there are numerous threats and multiple vulnerabilities with each piece of the digital puzzle, creating a cyber hygiene routine isn't as difficult as it may seem. A few key practices implemented regularly can dramatically improve the security of any system.

Document All Current Equipment and Programs

All hardware, software, and online applications will need to be documented. Start by creating a list of these three components:

Hardware: Computers, connected devices (i.e. printers, fax machines), and mobile devices (i.e. smartphones, tablets).
Software: All programs, used by everyone on a particular network, that are installed directly onto computers.
Applications: Web apps (i.e. Dropbox, Google Drive), applications on phones and tablets, and any other program that isn't directly installed on devices.

Just doing some simple easy things like what is described in cyber hygiene can go a long way in making your systems more cyberspace more secure.