Stress affects us all. And it sucks. 

Especially now, during the current COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of us are working from home and tiredly trying to balance our work and private life. 

Some of us have children that require our attention while we are in the middle of working on a very important issue, some of us have cats that demand to be petted as they squish our fingers while we’re typing. Either way, being stuck in the home office is not easy. And as if that wasn’t enough, the entire global situation is not providing much of a calming effect either. 

Which is why a lot of us tend to feel stressed, right now more than ever. And cyber criminals know that.

When we are stressed, we have a tendency to be at edge and are more prone to risk than if we were calm and relaxed. We are more likely to do things faster and impatiently than well-thought-out. And that’s the weak point that cyber criminals will try to attack. 

The bad guys will use your psychology against you and use your stressed state to their own advantage. They often design their attacks to sound urgent and authoritative, giving us the feeling we’re in trouble. For example, they might write you a fake email saying that you didn’t reply to your bank’s last letter and that you need to send them your bank account details ASAP as this is your last chance to do so.

A lot of us don’t tend to think twice in these situations and, especially in a stressed state, are more likely to hastily reply to phishing messages like these. Many of us are tired and in a constant hurry right now, so if a cyber criminal adds to that stress with an urgent-sounding request, things escalate and we react without thinking. And that is where things go wrong.

Pressing on the wrong link, accidentally clicking on a malicious ad, sending the wrong guys your private account details, all of these are things we are more likely to do when we are stressed. 

But don’t fret, my friend!

There are things you can do to protect yourself!

Making sure to verify who you are sending your private info too is always a good start. Even something as simple as a quick phone call to the right person may allow you to check if the email is real or not. Thinking twice about pressing on an off looking wrongly ad is also a great habit to get into. Just remember: when you’re stressed, you need to think twice.

But why end there?

There’s are many ways to protect yourself against cyber attacks. Cynch offers different membership programs tailored to your needs that will allow you to improve your Cyber Fitness, i.e. your resilience to cyber attacks. We will help you keep an overview of what risks may apply to you, and the steps you can take to address them. 

Don’t feel like you need to tackle everything alone. We are here to help!

So go get some of that stress off your shoulders and start working on your Cyber Fitness today!