Tips and tricks for safe handling in the IT environment

The 1x1 of safe handling

The increasing digitalisation of our work and private lives undoubtedly brings many advantages that make our everyday lives easier. At the same time, however, it unfortunately also brings with it various dangers. Many are not even recognisable at first glance or take a certain amount of time to fully unfold. As a result, it is usually only minor carelessness on our part that gives attackers access to our systems.

There are countless little things and behaviours that you can pay attention to in order to protect yourself and your data. So that you don't lose track, we have summarised the key points from our comprehensive guide in this blog article - so that you are as secure as possible at all times, both privately and when working from home.

We provide you with important tricks and tips on the following topics:

Social engineering
Password protection
Protection against invisible enemies: the virus
Email security
Protect sensitive data

Social engineering

Social engineering

In social engineering, attackers try to use human components to gain access to sensitive information such as a person's passwords and access authorisations. passwords and access authorisations of a person. This can happen, for example, by gaining your trust, eavesdropping on you or getting you to click on dangerous links that are in turn equipped with keyloggers, Trojans or similar. You can fall victim to such mechanisms not only in social networks, but also in any form of interpersonal communication - including in everyday working life.

Healthy mistrust is therefore very important! Always ask yourself beforehand whether you know the person who wants to get in touch with you or whether they seem authentic. The following mantra also applies:

Be on the safe side! Not sure who you have on the line or whether the author of this email is genuine? Forward the contact to either the relevant department or your line manager. If this option is not available, ask for the caller's contact details or ask them to call you again at a later date.

Have a healthy distrust! Always exercise caution with people you don't know and never pass on internal or confidential data. If the person claims to be an acquaintance or friend of one of your superiors, they should contact them directly or try again at a later date.

Don't let them get you down! And don't let them persuade you either. Don't fall for compliments, special courtesies or even threats.

Top Secret! Be careful not to discuss sensitive company information with colleagues or friends in public. You never know who might be listening in around you.

Password protection

Passwords are our digital keys, so to speak, which we use to prevent unauthorised persons from accessing all kinds of documents. They are used for all kinds of programmes, tools and documents - from the user password on our mobile phones or PCs to encrypted documents or special admin passwords. Just like "classic" keys, e.g. for our house, flat or safe, they now accompany us every day.

For a figurative comparison: we wouldn't just give our keys to anyone who wants them and always endeavour to keep our keys safe. We should do exactly the same with our passwords! So here are a few tips for keeping your passwords secure and how you can prevent someone else from stealing them:

There's power in complexity! At least for passwords. Make sure that you use as many different combinations of letters, numbers and special characters as possible in order to protect your access in the best possible way. The more complex (the more characters), the more secure.

Pssst! Keep your password to yourself and do not pass it on to third parties or strangers, not even by email or telephone.

Keep it safe! The safest place to store your password is in your head. If you do need a reminder, that's perfectly fine. Just make sure that it is sufficiently protected or use a password safe. (Under your desk pad is not a safe place!)

Watch out - spying! Make sure that no one is looking over your shoulder while you enter your password.

All the same! If possible, do not use the same password for all services and access points.

Protection against invisible enemies: viruses

Protection against invisible enemies: Viruses

Luckily, in most cases, we as users have rather less to do with virus protection, as all essential processes run automatically in the background, regularly check everything possible and notify us otherwise. However, viruses and attacks are also constantly evolving and there is a chance, albeit a small one, that some things will slip through the processes' fingers. That's why it's better to be safe than sorry. These simple tricks will help you keep your environment secure:

Trusted! Only use documents and software from trusted sources.

What's going on? If your device behaves unusually (e.g. sudden restart, uncontrolled mouse movements or atypically slow loading speeds), disconnect the PC from the network. If the problem occurs again, contact your IT department.

There is strength in calm! If you have fallen victim to an infection, switch off the PC or disconnect it from the Internet immediately! Try to stay calm and contact the IT department.

Hello, 911? As with a classic emergency call, there is information that will help IT to solve the problem more quickly. Who are you and what has happened? When did it happen and which systems have been affected so far? But don't panic - it's not a bad thing if you don't have an answer to everything immediately.

‍Email security

Emails are the main means of communication in many professions for exchanging a wide variety of information, both with people inside and outside the company.

It is no coincidence that phishing attacks have been on the rise for many years and are constantly evolving, with attackers trying to gain access to your company. Although these types of emails are becoming more and more authentic, fortunately there are still tricks you can use to unmask them and protect yourself:

The devil is in the detail! Spam emails always have one thing in common. Mistakes! So take a close look and ask yourself: Do I recognise the sender? Is it authentic?"

If in doubt, always display the complete email address to obtain further information.

SPAM SPAM SPAM! In most cases, there is a reason why the emails have ended up there - usually it is the errors just mentioned. If you were not expecting an email that could have ended up there by mistake, you should not click on any links or attachments from it, but ideally just delete everything straight away.

Protect sensitive data

Whether for professional or private use, you should be careful about what data you share and how you send it. Basically, the same measures are recommended here as for password protection and social engineering - be careful!

Of course, dangers and risks do not always have to come exclusively from the person or contact directly. It is also possible for strangers to gain access to your emails or those of the person you are communicating with. For this reason, you should never send sensitive data as a message for security reasons. Do you need to share such information?

Our tip: Only send in an encrypted and password-protected file!

Max Mustermann

We hope you find these tips helpful. Further information and assistance on these and other topics such as

Mobile devices and data carriers
Preventing data loss

can be found in our detailed guide. You can download it with just a few clicks.