Wedding Planning: Say ‘I do!’ to Cybersecurity
June 3rd, 2021
Congratulations, you are preparing for a great life adventure with that special person in your life! And you are likely joining the majority of brides-and-grooms-to-be (92% per www.staysafeonline.org ) who are planning this special event on your mobile phone or tablet: checking to do lists, locating the best dress or venue, planning your honeymoon and managing wedding registries. Here are some tips to keep your wedding activities cybersecure.
Planning Your Special Day
- Secure Your Login – Your usernames and passwords are not enough to protect all the critical information you are working with to plan your wedding. Your guest list and vendor contacts, your credit card information, social media, online wedding planner – all are stored on your mobile device. Secure your accounts using strong authentication tools such as biometrics, security keys, or other types of multi-factor authentication.
- Make Better Passwords – Use a password which is a phrase or sentence that is at least 12 characters long. Focus on positive phrases that you want to think about and are easy to remember. Don’t forget special characters and spaces can be used too! Example: D1mondzR4-ev3r! (Diamonds are forever!)
- Unique Account = Unique Password – Cybercriminals like to try the same password to hack into different systems. Make it harder for them and put your mind at ease by using a different passphrase for each account you set up for your wedding planning.
- Back It Up – Save all those precious photographed moments in a cloud storage solution or external hard drive.
- Guests’ Privacy Matters Too – Be mindful of your guests’ privacy when posting pictures and videos up to and including your big day.
Honeymoon Time
- Beware Before You Share – Think before you share … while in the moment. Bad actors look for opportunities. Post your memorable moments when you return from your honeymoon.
- Location, Location, Location – Turn off location services when not in use. These tools are helpful in navigating a new place, however they can also expose your location (even photos!).
- Stay Connected – Wi-Fi hotspots are convenient, but not secure. Make sure to use a virtual private network (VPN) connection on your phone and other mobile devices to ensure you are connecting securely.
- Sharing is Not Caring – If you must use a public computer in a hotel or other public location, limit the information you enter. Don’t log into accounts like email, banking or social media and always click “logout” when you are finished. Clicking the “X” to close the browser or application, does not log you out of your accounts.
- Protect your $$$ – As you go about spending some of that wedding gift cash, be sure to shop on secure sites. Web addresses with “http://” instead of “https://” are not secure.
Do your part - #BeCyberSmart
