Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is defined as “the resilience of information systems against actions that compromise the confidentiality, integrity, availability, and authenticity of processed data or related services provided by these systems” (Article 2, section 4 of the Act of July 5, 2018, on the National Cybersecurity System (Journal of Laws of 2020, item 1369, as amended)).

The most common threats in cyberspace include:

  • Attacks using malicious software (malware, viruses, worms, etc.)
  • Identity theft
  • Theft (fraud), falsification, or destruction of data
  • Denial of service attacks
  • Spam (unwanted or unnecessary electronic messages)
  • Social engineering attacks (e.g., phishing—extracting confidential information (e.g., login data) by impersonating a trusted institution or person, such as government agencies, banks, social networks, or acquaintances)

Some ways to protect yourself from threats:

  • Use only strong, unique passwords for each system and do not share them with anyone.
  • Install and use antivirus software. It is best to enable real-time protection.
  • Update antivirus software and virus databases (check if your antivirus program has this feature and does it automatically).
  • Update your operating system and applications without unnecessary delays.
  • Do not open files from unknown sources.
  • Avoid using websites (especially banking, email, or social media sites) that do not have a valid certificate unless you are 100% sure from another source that the site is safe.
  • Do not use unverified security programs or file-sharing tools on the internet (they may, for example, add unwanted lines of code to the source of the site).
  • Regularly scan your computer and check network processes. If you’re not familiar with this, ask someone who knows how to do it. Sometimes malicious software establishing its own connections to the internet, sending your passwords and other private data, can be installed on your computer despite good protection—it must be detected and removed.
  • Scan files downloaded from the internet using antivirus software.
  • Avoid visiting websites that offer exceptional attractions (free videos, music, easy money, miracle diets)—such sites often hide viruses, trojans, and other threats.
  • Do not leave personal data on unverified services and websites unless you are absolutely sure they are not visible to third parties.
  • Do not send any confidential data (e.g., personal, login, credit card information) via email in plain text—these should be password-protected and encrypted—the password should be shared securely, i.e., through a different channel than the data.
  • Remember to enable a firewall.
  • Back up important data.
  • Be aware that no bank or government agency sends emails to its customers requesting passwords or logins for verification purposes.
  • Pay attention to the messages that appear on the screen and never ignore security warnings.

More tips on data security can be found at the following links: