Simple cure for dangerous clouds, internets, and so on

That's right! I'm not a wizard, but I do have the cure. A group of IT experts will probably crucify me for this oversimplification. The thing is, it just works, even at this level of simplification.

That's right! I'm not a wizard, but I do have the cure. A group of IT experts will probably crucify me for this oversimplification. The thing is, it just works, even at this level of simplification. Read on — it'll really be simple. Your IT can be more secure today — I promise. Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and many others spend incredible amounts on the security of their solutions. They have all kinds of certifications and huge security teams. But… we, the regular Teams and Google Docs users, throw spanners into the works, and we often forget that the problem is usually somewhere completely different = WITH US = the same trivial passwords across different services (this is the so-called shared responsibility issue *1). Why do we keep doing the same "stupid stuff" without listening? Because we're lazy — and we "great IT folks" make it complicated, incomprehensible, and often magical. It's no magic, but it'll hurt a little. And the cure?
  1. I use a unique password for each service, which I don't memorize and instead keep in a password manager *2.
  2. I have annoying second-factor verification turned on wherever it can be turned on. Same as signing into the bank (an app or SMS).
  3. I make no exceptions and apply the FIRST TWO POINTS over and over.
  4. If I want it really polished, I ask my IT folks to require the second factor even for signing into the PC/Mac, plus the still-popular RDP (remote desktop).
  5. If you follow points 1–3, the average attacker will most likely leave you alone. And if someone breaks in anyway, you're surely backing up using the 3-2-1 rule and you can quickly restore your IT to a working state.

*1 With Software-as-a-Service products (Teams, Google Workspace), the cloud provider handles the "platform" and we're left at minimum with the management and security of user identities = login + password + ideally something only we know or have.

*2 Sometime soon we'll dive into password managers. Ask 10 IT folks, get 10 opinions. #hackerprotect #cybersecurity #technology #cloud