The Ministry of Finance and Economic Model has launched, through the Information Technology and Communication Security Centre of the Valencian Community (CSIRT-CV), an information campaign to raise public awareness of the importance of security in devices digital home and especially for the next few weeks.

Under the name ‘Ten cybersecurity recommendations for home computers’, the entity’s experts will inform users of home devices for two weeks on how to avoid cyber risks that citizens face daily with the use of portable and mobile devices in which they store a large amount of personal and confidential information such as data on bank accounts or access to their personal emails.

The general director of ICT, José Manuel García Duarte, has stressed that this campaign is “vital, due to the significant increase in the consumption of portable electronic equipment since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, when its use has become widespread. among the population, even in sectors that were not familiar with them. ” In addition, Duarte has warned about the “increasing frequency and effectiveness with which cybercriminals are trying to access personal data not only of companies and institutions, but also of domestic computers, in which practically all the information of our homes. ”

This campaign, which can be followed through the CSIRT and the Generalitat’s social networks on Facebook and Twitter, will provide valuable and practical advice to consumers. In fact, the information capsules will be aimed, for example, at users who check their email in open network cafeterias while having a coffee, watching movies while waiting at the airport, connecting to a free Wi-Fi network or sharing their equipment with all the members of the family “given that they are potential targets of cyberattacks due to the vulnerabilities that affect these networks.”

As Duarte explained, “the CSIRT-CV seeks to educate users about the dangers they run, so that they can take the appropriate measures to protect their equipment, the valuable information they have on them and even their own privacy”.

Protect our digital information and privacy

The campaign will include the publication of a series of ten logical and physical protection measures that anyone can apply to protect their laptops and that “on many occasions, are not put into practice due to ignorance or simply, because they are not aware of the information. so valuable that we keep in them “have pointed out from CSIRT-CV.

Among these tips, CSIRT-CV explains how to promote security and our privacy in the use of applications and social networks, how to generate backup copies so as not to lose relevant information, or how to update the software of these devices, to navigate safely to through public Wi-Fi networks.

Another aspect in which the campaign will deepen is the importance of having quality and reliable antivirus or delving into encryption systems and secure passwords as a system to protect access to our electronic devices.

“This is a campaign of maximum utility and relevance at a time when a large part of the population is interconnected through these devices, which can make life much easier, but also pose a high risk to our personal and private information,” he said. insisted by the ICT director. For this reason, Duarte asks citizens to take note of these tips, which will allow citizens to protect themselves against these risks.