Tech Tuesday: Protecting yourself, your business from cyberattacks

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – We’ve been telling you about the ransomware attack that caused the City of Wichita to shut off its entire network over the weekend.

Wichita is just one of many organizations dealing with cybersecurity threats across the country.

It raises the question: what can you do to protect yourself from similar attacks?

The City of Wichita joins Ascension, Dell and Boeing as recent victims of cyberattacks. These breaches have significantly increased in just the past three weeks. Now, as all four of those organizations work to find answers on what went wrong and how to prevent future attacks, here’s what you can do to protect yourself:

We’ll start with passwords. If you reuse the same variation of a password on multiple accounts, you are putting yourself at extreme risk for a breach.

Jason McKinley of Arc Technologies Group recommends using a password manager and creating longer passwords. Additionally, turning on two-factor authentication will add an extra layer of security if your password does get leaked.

McKinley adds that regularly keeping an eye on your accounts and being proactive are other ways to step up your cybersecurity game.

“Burying your head in the sand isn’t effective,” McKinley said. “You have to do something to start looking at your risk. You start getting random text messages to your phone prompting you for a multi-factor code you didn’t ask for. Whether you’re a business or individual, it doesn’t matter. Proactivity is what gets you out of the hole today.”

As for those of you with city accounts and bills, automated payments are still not working, so you need to pay your bill via cash or check by stopping by City Hall. You will not accrue late fees until this cybersecurity incident is fixed.

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