By Hank Schless, Senior Manager of Security Solutions at Lookout
Yesterday the popular messaging & collaboration platform Slack experienced an outage this week. Businesses everywhere found out how reliant they are on technology – specifically communication tools – as many struggled to stay in touch within their colleagues.
Slack isn’t the first major company to come into the limelight when services are unavailable. In recent months, Microsoft, FedEx, and Amazon all experienced periods of downtime that lead people to look for alternative ways to conduct business.
Although this may be the time to find work arounds, it is not the time to forgo internet safety and share private information through unfamiliar methods. Lookout, the leader in delivering integrated Security, Privacy, and Identity Theft Protection solutions, has shared tips on how to keep your guard up during difficult times:
Validate the identity of people who reach out to you
During a communications outage make sure to verify who you are talking to. If you ever receive communication claiming to be an individual you know but you can’t be 100% sure, contact them directly to validate that it’s really them.
- For example, during a phishing attack, bad actors may pose as bosses within a company, to trick employees into giving away important information. If you receive a message from someone where you can’t confidently validate their identity, call that person and speak with them directly before proceeding.
- If you are ever contacted by someone asking you to download an app or click a link, exercise caution. If this does happen, it’s important to ensure you’re protected by having a mobile security app – like Lookout Security – on your device that will block connections to phishing sites and alert you if you download a malicious app.
Use only communication channels you can reliably trust.
If a popular communication channel you use isn’t available – don’t resort to sending important information over less secure platforms. For instance, if you need to send documents or sensitive data to colleagues, only use your company’s approved email platform, and avoid sending information over your personal email or via text messages.
Lookout is a cybersecurity company offering a range of security solutions for both Consumer & Businesses customers. Our mission is to secure and empower our digital future in a privacy-focused world where sharing sensitive information is essential for work and play. We enable consumers and employees to protect their data, and to securely stay connected without violating their privacy and trust. Lookout is trusted by millions of consumers, the largest enterprises and government agencies, and partners such as AT&T, Verizon, Vodafone, Microsoft, Google, and Apple. Headquartered in San Francisco, Lookout has offices in Amsterdam, Boston, London, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto and Washington, D.C. To learn more, visit www.lookout.com and follow Lookout on its blog, LinkedIn, and Twitter. https://www.lookout.com