– If you want to prevent yourself getting hacked, it’s best to leave your laptop at home. At present the safest working tool is an iPad tablet, for which you can get a keyboard to make it easier to use, says Tomi Tuominen, head of technical security consulting at the F-Secure cyber security company.
This isn’t sales talk but a technical fact. Tuominen says Apple mobile devices outweigh other manufacturers in terms of security. But it’s not enough to get a device, as it needs to be “hardened” to make it more secure.
– Always use the latest version of the operating system. Youtube is full of videos of how to break into older versions, explains Tuominen.
He also urges journalists to use a PIN code for the SIM card that is at least eight characters long.
– It’s also important to disable the control centre, Siri, and voice commands, and disable all non-essential apps’ access to phone calls.
More secure online connections
TOR browsers have been popular for encrypting data, but Tuominen says they are not as safe as people think. A better option is to use a good quality Virtual Private Network, which you pay for and which guarantees a private network.
Email and Pretty Good Privacy are also not recommended for confidential communications.
– Twitter messaging is a good communications tool. Both you and the person you’re messaging can delete the message thread, and it’ll vanish, says Tuominen.
He recommends using the Signal app for instant messaging. And if you must use email, use Fastmail, which you pay for and which Tuominen says is a tried and tested service provider.
“Beware of memory cards, go for glitter”
Ensuring security doesn’t require great technical expertise, only maintaining safe routines. Not reusing the same passwords is one of Tuominen’s tips.
– It would be best to use a password generator. 1Password is one such. The passwords it creates are difficult to crack sequences, and you don’t have to remember more than a single unique password.
Another common error is to put your trust in memory cards and USBs.
– Never plug your USB into a device that you don’t trust. And don’t connect your device to one that you don’t know, Tuominen cautions.
− It’s generally good to carry your devices with you whenever possible.
If you are forced to leave them unattended, it’s good to know whether they’ve been tampered with. You can use tamper-evident security envelopes, which are very hard to open undetected. And ten there’s glitter nail polish.
– When the screws of your laptop are covered with a glitter nail polish and you take a photo of them, you’ll be able to tell if someone has opened them. Glitter nail polish forms patterns that can’t be duplicated.