Recently, one of the most popularised and confounding hacks on Twitter took place. Twitter accounts of major companies and individuals were hacked by a scam promoting bitcoin.

Twitter handles of renowned personalities such as Barack Obama, Apple, Joe Biden, Bill Gates were among those hacked accounts.

Cyber threats have increased during Covid-19 pandemic as more users embraced online lifestyle. Google recently reported blocking more than 18 million predatory emails every day, as well as 240 million daily spam messages.

At any company or business, allowing employees access to work from work may offer advantages, but it could also open the company to a host of dangers.

Many different threats lurk online, ranging from con artists who use email and the web to trick users into giving up personal information, to malicious software that can steal important company data or corrupt files.

Maintaining a good online safety policy can help one avoid these threats and keep their business safe.

Online safety or cyber safety includes minimizing vulnerabilities and threats while on the internet and maximizing user awareness on security risks to private information.

Among the most common threats include phishing scams, identity theft, ransomware, malware, viruses and other online threats.

To be safe online, awareness about threats and risks that comes with the internet is the first step.

Below are some of the commonly used online tools that will help businesses and even individuals to improve online safety:

Tor Browser Project

Tor is free and open-source software for enabling anonymous communication which prevents anyone watching your Internet connection from knowing the sites you visit or your physical location. Its free tools include a desktop browser and a proxy app for an Android device.

HTTPS Everywhere

HTTPS Everywhere is a Firefox, Chrome, and Opera extension that encrypts your communications with many major websites, making your browsing more secure. HTTPS Everywhere is a collaboration between The Tor Project and the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

DuckDuckGO

DuckDuckGo is an Internet search engine that doesnt store your search history or sell your information to advertisers that track you across the web. DuckDuckGo avoids personalized search results. Instead, it focuses on returning the best results, generated from hundreds of individual sources, including other search engines, such as Bing and Yahoo.

editor@newtimesrwanda.com

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Nuts and Bolts: Understanding cyber risks and commonly used tools - The New Times