The Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) Annual Data Breach Report recorded 3,205 cyberattacks leading to data compromises in 2024. With over 1.7 billion victims per year that’s more than 4.6 million per day, or nearly 54 per second.

From stolen identities to drained bank accounts, no one is exempt. Individuals, businesses, and even governments are under constant threat. The good news is you don’t need to be a cybersecurity expert to protect yourself. By following just four simple steps, you can drastically reduce your risk and stay safe in an increasingly dangerous digital world.

Recognize Phishing

Phishing emails have come a long way in recent years. Impersonal greetings, grammatical errors, and misspelled words once made phishing emails easy to spot. However, AI has made phishing emails increasingly realistic, making them difficult to distinguish from legitimate ones. Here are some signs to look out for:

• Urgent or emotionally appealing language: Scammers use influence techniques such as fear, urgency, or authority, to trigger an emotional response and get targets to click without thinking.
• Requests to send personal and financial information: Legitimate companies won’t ask for passwords, Social Security numbers, or credit card info, via email.
• Suspicious Links or Attachments: Hover over links to check their true destination. If it looks odd or unrelated to the company, don’t click.
• Mismatch Between Display Name and Email Address: The display name might say “Apple Support,” but the actual email is from an unrelated domain.

Use Strong Unique Passwords

It seems we need a password for just about everything nowadays. Many people feel it’s daunting to remember so many passwords. So they choose to use one password for several accounts, or they choose simple “easy-to-remember” passwords, such as 12345, or common identifying information, like birthdays and pet names. These are not safe for protecting accounts containing important personal information. Using an easy-to-guess password is like locking the door but leaving the key in the lock. Weak passwords can quickly be broken by computer hackers. You’re probably thinking, “but it’s impossible to remember a unique strong password for every account!”

The good news is that creating and storing strong passwords with the help of a “password manager” is one of the easiest ways to protect ourselves from someone logging into our accounts and stealing sensitive information, data, money, or even identities.

Turn on Multifactor Authentication

Turning on Multifactor Authentication (MFA) provides an extra layer of protection by requiring users to verify their identity using more than just a password. Even if a password is stolen or compromised, unauthorized access is blocked unless the attacker can also provide a second form of verification, such as a one-time code sent to a trusted device, a fingerprint scan, or authentication through an app. This added step significantly reduces the risk of data breaches, phishing attacks, and identity theft, making it much harder for cybercriminals to gain access to sensitive accounts and information.

Update Software

Regularly updating your device is a crucial defense against hacks as software updates often include patches for security vulnerabilities that hackers exploit. Cybercriminals search for weaknesses in operating systems, and once a flaw is discovered, it can be used to launch attacks on unprotected devices. By keeping your device up to date, you ensure that these known vulnerabilities are fixed, reducing the chances of being targeted.

Enhance Your Digital Security

Learning to recognize phishing, using strong passwords, enabling MFA, and keeping software up to date are all fundamental defenses. Together, they create a multi-layered shield against most cyber threats.

But attackers aren’t only after networks; they’re after the people who use them. Understanding why individuals click, trust, or comply under pressure adds a psychological layer of protection that technology alone can’t provide.

That’s where the Foundational Application of Social Engineering (FASE) training comes in. This immersive four-day course bridges psychology and security, helping participants:

• Understand how cognitive biases and emotional triggers affect decision-making.
• Recognize and counteract manipulation techniques used by attackers.
• Strengthen awareness, communication, and influence skills ethically and effectively.

Building digital resilience isn’t only about firewalls and passwords — it’s about training the human firewall.
Learn how to protect yourself and your organization from manipulation-based attacks by enrolling in FASE.

Written by
Rosa Rowles
Human Risk Analyst, Social-Engineer, LLC