Sandia Area shares mobile security tips for New Mexicans

Sandia Area is sharing mobile security tips for New Mexicans as cyber threats to phones, tablets and computers continue to grow. The credit union’s support operations team said the guidance is aimed at helping residents keep personal data out of the hands of criminals.

J.J. Alcantar, Vice President of Support Operations for Sandia Area, discussed device security on New Mexico Living. Alcantar said device security is about protecting phones, tablets, and computers from unauthorized access, malware, and cybercriminals.

Most people use their phone for banking, email, and social media. If someone gains access to one of your devices, they may also gain access to a lot of your personal information.

Alcantar said one of the biggest mistakes people make that leaves their device vulnerable is by ignoring software updates. Another common mistake is creating weak or reused passwords. If an account is compromised, scammers will try the same password across multiple websites.

Sandia Area offered the following tips to keep devices safe:

• Keep your devices updated by installing software and security updates as soon as they’re available.
• Use strong, unique passwords for every account and consider using a password manager to keep track of them.
• Turn on multi-factor authentication whenever it’s offered. That extra verification step makes it much harder for criminals to access your accounts.
• Lock your devices with a PIN, fingerprint, or facial recognition.
• Only download apps from trusted sources like the Apple App Store or Google Play.