Proactive Cybersecurity: Keep your Personal Information Safe

Recent headlines about data breaches—such as reports of ’16 billion credentials leaked’—can sound alarming at first glance. However, these numbers often reflect a compilation of various leaks, some of which occurred recently or even years ago. Nevertheless, a proactive approach to cybersecurity is always the best defense against vulnerable personal information.

Here are some general precautions to help keep your accounts and information secure:

• Avoid reusing passwords across different accounts, and when you feel you need to, change your passwords. 
• Take advantage of Google’s Security Checkup for both your personal and WFU Google accounts.
• View your Wake Forest email through the Gmail web interface or apps for Android, or iOS to utilize warning banners for suspicious messages. 
• When making purchases online, only use reputable companies. Here’s some things to look for when buying from an online retailer. 
• Implement Google Passkeys for a significant security upgrade.

If you have any questions or concerns, need assistance setting up Google Passkeys, or receive a suspicious email, please contact the WFU Information Security Team at infosec@wfu.edu. By working together, we can maintain a secure digital environment for our University.