Smart phone security tips for insurance professionals

The smart phone is the communication device for many of today’s busy insurance professionals. While a smart phone allows immediate communication with clients and colleagues, hackers are becoming more sophisticated in their efforts to crack smart phone security walls. There are a few things insurance professionals can do to keep their phones safe from hackers.

#1 Choose a secure password. Did you know that commonly used passwords are “123456” or simply the word “password?” In a world of increasing cyber threats, that simply won’t cut it. Using such a password is an invitation for a hacker to steal personal or business information. Choose a password that is not easily guessed. The best method is to make your password alphanumeric (containing both numbers and letters) and also special characters (#, $, *, $, etc.) if possible. The longer your password, the better it is for security purposes. Even sophisticated hacking software designed to crack passwords has a hard time cracking these long combinations of characters.

#2 Allow OS security updates to install. It can be a pain to have to constantly allow updates to be installed on your smart phone. However, you should know that these updates of the operating system will not only keep your apps up-to-date, but also are important in keeping your phone secure. A few minutes of inconvenience is a small price to pay for keeping your personal and business information secure.

#3 Use two-factor authentication (2FA). Two-factor authentication requires not only a password but also a second factor, like a one-time temporary code, to access a login. Unless a hacker has both, he’ll not be able to access your account. The 2FA may be a little inconvenient because you’ll always have to use a second code in addition to a password to log in to an account, but it also makes it difficult for a hacker to access your account and gain access to your information.