Cybersecurity Awareness

GBC is committed to protecting our customers' personal and financial information. Maintaining our customers' trust and confidence is our priority

More and more frequently, consumers are using their mobile devices for online banking, payments, and shopping. We can now check our bank account balances, deposit a check using a mobile device's camera, pay bills, transfer money between friends, and make purchases directly on our mobile devices. However, since these activities require users to provide sensitive personal information such as their names, account numbers, email addresses, and passwords, it is important to weigh the perceived benefits and potential risks associated with mobile payments and banking.

Be cyber secure at home.

Use stronger authentication.

Always opt to enable stronger authentication when available, especially for accounts with sensitive information including your email or bank accounts. A stronger authentication helps verify a user has authorized access to an online account. For example, it could be a one-time PIN texted to a mobile device, providing an added layer of security beyond the password and username.

Use unique passwords.

Use different passwords for different programs, accounts, and devices. By having multiple passwords, even if attackers do get one of your passwords, they will not have access to all of your accounts. Do not choose options that allow your device to remember your passwords.

Check your account statements regularly.

Review your banking, credit card, or payment service statements regularly to ensure there are no unauthorized charges or withdrawals.

Know your applications.

Be sure to review and understand the details of an app before downloading and installing it. Be aware that apps may request access to your location and personal information and determine what information you want the app to be sharing or transmitting. Delete any apps that you do not use regularly to increase your security.

Review social media permissions.

If a payment service is linked to your social media account, your payment or purchase history could accidentally be shared with your larger network. The more you post about yourself, the easier it might be for someone to use the information you post to access your accounts, steal your identity, and more. Be sure to review and understand those privacy permissions and settings.

Be up to date.

Keep your software updated to the latest version available. Maintain your security settings to keeping your information safe by turning on automatic updates so you don't have to think about it and set your security software to run regular scans.

Be cyber secure at workplace

Businesses face significant financial loss when a cyber attack occurs. The number of U.S. business experiencing data breaches grows every year. Cybercriminals often rely on employees failing to install software patches or clicking on malicious links to gain access to systems. From the top leadership to the newest employee, cybersecurity requires the vigilance of everyone to keep data, customers, and capital safe and secure.

Treat business information as personal information.

Business information typically includes a mix of personal and proprietary data. While you may think of trade secrets and company credit accounts, it also includes employee personally identifiable information (PII) through tax forms and payroll accounts. Do not share PII with unknown parties or over unsecured networks.

Technology has its limits.

As "smart" or data driven technology evolves, it is important to remember that security measures only work if used correctly by employees. Smart technology runs on data meaning devices such as smartphones, laptop computers, wireless printers, and other devices are constantly exchanging data to complete tasks. Take proper security precautions and ensure correct configuration to wireless devices in order to prevent data breaches.

Social media is part of the fraud toolset.

By searching Google and scanning your organization's social media sites, cybercriminals can gather information about your partners and vendors, as well as human resources and financial departments. Employees should avoid oversharing on social media and should not conduct official business, exchange payment, or share PII on social media platforms.

You should always backup your data.

Backing up your data is crucial for your business. A regular data backup preferably daily or weekly saves your important files from inevitable data loss situations due to cyber attack events such as ransomware attack, system crash, malware infection, hard drive corruption and failure.

It only takes one time.

Data breaches do not typically happen when a cybercriminal has hacked into an organization's infrastructure. Many data breaches can be traced back to a single security vulnerability, phishing attempt, or instance of accidental exposure. Be wary of unusual sources, do not click on unknown links, and delete suspicious messages immediately.

Report as soon as you can.

Law enforcement can use tools and legal authorities that are unavailable to private entities to identify and apprehend whoever is responsible for the incident. Federal investigators can obtain data to trace an intrusion or attack to its source using search warrants, court orders and subpoenas. You can report a security breach to:

· FBI field offices www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field

· U.S. Secret Service field offices www.secretservice.gov/contact

· Internet Crime Complaint Center www.ic3.gov

· Federal Trade Commission https://www.identitytheft.gov

· Your local law enforcement