The month of October is Cyber Security Awareness Month, and City of Lawrence Cyber Security Manager, John Williams, provided a report on challenges and advances in the field. The anonymity of the Internet makes it easy to be a bad actor and vulnerable and uninformed people are particularly at risk. Major financial loss and system damage is common due to fraudulent contacts online. John said the City of Lawrence averages forty attempts a day by unauthorized parties attempting to access the City’s network. He urges computer users to use long, unique and complicated passwords and password management systems. Whole phrases function like passwords and are easy to remember. He recommended a site that evaluates passwords and provides a record of any past compromises: haveibeenpwned.com. Use multi factor authentication whenever possible. Recognize and report efforts to deceive you online and don’t give up personal information. Keep your security software updated. John believes that good work has been done to secure vital networks and the need to work together and share information about threats is better understood.
