How to protect yourself from cyber attacks: from the “digital condom” to FIDO keys and encrypted disks

The cyber attacks are exploding Ai cases of ransomware that businesses and governments have suffered in recent years has added to the increase in phishing attacks, bogus online shopping sites, programs with malware (viruses) and WhatsApp scams.

In our region the context is worrying. Latin America is one of the areas that has grown the most in terms of the number of attacks: in the first half of 2022, the area received at least 137 billion attempts of cyberattacks from January to June this year, up 50% from the same period last year (with 91 billion, all according to FortiGuard laboratories).

Against this backdrop, threats and data leaks have been on the rise since the start of the pandemic, and you don’t need to be a large company to suffer a cyberattack. And while there are ways to protect yourself and the accounts we use, there are a number of tools to be more secure and keep our information and data safe. Bank account.

In this note, the experts speak before a list of devices that can make our online life more beautiful Safe.

FIDO keys

Hardware security keys are an additional method to log in, i.e. to access the services we use as Google or even social networks like Twitter.

These devices are named after an NGO with more than 250 corporate and government members called Quick identification online. They basically define authentication standards based on physical devices connecting USB or from NFCi.e. by proximity (as when we place the SUBE card in the turnstile reader).

FIDO key compatible devices are used to have a second factor of authentication when logging into a personal account. But what is this about a second factor?

“When we talk about multi-factor authentication, we are usually referring to more than one of the following factors: knowledge (what is known), possession (what one has) and inherent (what one is). The first factor refers to passwords, pins, keys, etc., which are based on something that we have to remember,” Iván Barrera Oro (Hackan), a software developer specializing in cybersecurity, explains to Clarín. The second factor, in this case, would be something you have (the FIDO key).

“The operation may be a bit complex, but its use is very simple: the device is connected via USB or NFC [por proximidad] and touches the button they wear. That’s it for keys, and it’s usually required after entering the first factor (the password, key or pin),” Hackan explains.

There is also its practicality: while applications such as Google Authenticator ask you to enter a 6-digit code that you have to go and look up on your phone, the key offers a more direct access route. And less hackable.

Of course, always after entering the password: if the FIDO key is stolen, they won’t be able to do anything about it since they will need a password that only we know. The most common manufacturers are Yubikey, SoloKeys and Titan, among others.

A downside: Banks and financial institutions in Argentina do not yet adhere to this practice, so they cannot be used.

hardware encrypted storage

External storage drives such as USB pendrive Y solid state drive (SSD) that connect via USB can be potential attack vectors: connecting to someone else’s computer can be expensive, it is possible infections such as data theft.

There is also the inverse problem, known as “Faulty USB”, or that a pen drive is infected with malware and deposits it on our computer.

Both to avoid this problem and to protect our files, there are storage devices encrypted.

“Traditionally, encrypted devices have always been relegated to a very specific niche in the business world: banks, finance, drugs, armed forces, military, police, people who manage confidential information of national security or of very high financial importance,” explains José Luis Fernández, Kingston’s Technology Manager for South America.

“However, online banking today has a preponderance that it didn’t have a few years ago, today people invest in the stock market, manage their banks from the Internet, buy cryptocurrencies from digital. Today people have the potential to have a lot of digital assets that are directly money or are worth money, a lot of information is managed by bank passwords, sites, having to do with privacy, personal safety and that of your family ”, adds he .

“Price-wise, compared to what people are used to paying for a common USB stick, this is expensive. But there comes a point where one has to ask what is expensive? People still, and in many SMBs, have their passwords in a .txt saved to the desktop on their computers, which is equivalent to taking the money you have, leaving it on the table at home, and leaving with the door open, without the keys: it’s more or less the same thing», he warns.

“This type of encrypted device is the physical medium of a new code of Conduct that all users should have, is what it has to do with theirs digital identity and of his finance”, he closes.

Both the Kingston encrypted stick and the SSD don’t have official prices yet. But the external drive (IronKey Vault Privacy 80) and pen drive, Privacy 50C, which is USB-C, will cost around 50,000 pesos.

Use a router instead of a modem

Internet connection is gateway for cyber attacks. In general, users use modems provided on loan from Internet service provider companies (ISP). However, connecting directly through them can be problematic.

The first thing to differentiate is the modem that companies provide routers.

By purchasing a router, you gain control over your network: “The modem provided by the provider is under yours controlallowing us to configure the level of security to be applied in our network, control connections, be able to open or close doors for special needs and prevent neighbors who know the Passwords that providers connect to our network without authorization”, explains Adolfo Fioranelli, expert in networks and communications, managing director and founder of Consultores IT.

But also for a very important issue: many modems carry vulnerabilities, like the one discovered last year by a team of Argentines. Putting a router, like this, contributes to “avoid being the victim of a cyber attack in case of critical vulnerabilities affecting the modems of the providers, they are massively exploited before being patched.

“To connect at home or in a small office, in addition to the modem provided by our Internet provider, we can add a Wi-Fi routers to our connection, extending the covered area, but also separating our network from that of the provider”, he suggests.

What is it for? To configure the WiFi network with a higher level of security. “This is done by implementing secure protocols such as WPA2, but also with the possibility of adding a guest network, which frees us from the need to give our password to those who occasionally come and ask us for WiFi”, he adds. “As a bonus, it gives us the ability to do that setting up the device with basic features of Firewall”, he adds.

In case you choose this option, you have to buy a router like a Linksys E5400 and ask your internet provider to put the modem into mode”bridge“or bridge”. “Finally, we connected the port PALE from our WiFi router to the provider’s modem, we follow the steps of our router’s tutorial and configure what is necessary to be able to surf the Internet in a more secure way, at least as regards communications”, concludes the expert.

portable 4G router

Another big problem is connecting to public networks. Not knowing their nature, we do not know what traffic is circulating or who connects to it. And especially what kind malware can flow through these connections.

For this there are portable routers. That is, devices that allow us to connect via 4G, as if we were using our mobile phones.

“GL-E750 Portable 4G LTE Router it is a 4G modem which gives us the ability to connect securely to the internet using a phone chip and data plan, providing us with VPN and a WiFi network to connect our devices, both phones, tablets such as notebooks and computersFioranelli explains.

“It’s ideal for vacationbut also to work at a distancewhen we have to use the internet in hotels, canteens or any public place where we are not sure of the security of the connection”, he adds.

USB “condom”

It has a somewhat strange name, but the concept is clear: a secure USB that locks the pins They transmit data and only leave charging enabled.

These come in handy when we charge our phone in unfamiliar places via USB ports. That is, not directly with our usual charger.

In this way, data blockers leave open the possibility of recharging a device but canceling data transmission: it is a matter of avoiding what is known as juice withdrawaldata extraction from loading ports.

They are obtained from Amazon for less than 10 dollarsor very specialized shops.

SL