1. Use long, complex, passwords. By that, I mean at least 12 characters with numbers, symbols, uppercase letters, and lowercase letters. I always suggest to people to read this brief article on passwords. It’s frightening how many people use simple passwords such as “12345” or “password.” A 10-character password with all the above would take the most powerful known brute force password breaker 5.5 years to break, compared to 5.3 hours for an eight-character password.
2. Use two-step authentication wherever possible.
3. Don’t reuse the same password across multiple websites.
4. Choose obscure answers to your password retrieval questions.
5. Use antivirus software.
6. Use BillGuard to monitor your credit card. BillGuard is a free monitor for your credit and debit cards (they use the crowdsourced data to create the most advanced fraud monitoring system, which they sell to credit card companies).
7. If you receive a suspicious email, do not open it, especially if it has attachments or links that seem suspicious.
8. If you receive a suspicious email from someone you know, especially if it has attachments or links that seem suspicious, call (do not email) the person to confirm that they sent it.
In the case of email phishing hacks of the variety that ATP1 does, there’s not a lot you can do besides educating yourself. If interested, in the Mandiant report, you can read pages 27-30 to learn about the relatively simple tactics APT1 used.
My top stock for cybersecurity
Six months ago, I called out Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:CHKP) as my favored way to invest in the cybersecurity space. While the stock is basically unchanged since then, I still like it as the story hasn’t changed.
1) No. 3 in network security behind Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) and Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR), with an $11 billion market cap.
2) Very profitable, $800 million in FCF.
3) Founded and run by Gil Shwed and Marius Nacht, each with roughly a 10% stake.
4) No debt, $3 billion in cash and bonds on the balance sheet, and buying back shares every quarter.
While there are other interesting stocks in the network security space, none have the low valuation, balance sheet strength, or insider ownership that Check Point does.
The article The Greatest Threat to the United States originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Dan Dzombak.
Dan Dzombak can be found on Twitter @DanDzombak, or on his Facebook page, DanDzombak. He owns shares of Bank of America and Cisco Systems. The Motley Fool recommends Apple, Check Point Software Technologies, Cisco Systems, Facebook, and Google. The Motley Fool owns shares of Apple, Bank of America, Check Point Software Technologies, Facebook, Google, JPMorgan Chase, Northrop Grumman, and PNC Financial Services.
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