Fight cyber criminals

Guarding against hackers does not have to involve a hi-tech battle in cyberspace. Simple good habits and common sense in your daily computer use can help keep the cyber criminals at bay, and contribute towards the broader effects by IT teams to keep systems and patient data safe and secure.

SHIELD and create a strong password now

Operation SHIELD is being launched from late January 2020 onwards to encourage all HA employees to change their intranet (CORP) ID and internet ID passwords to improve system security. Colleagues will receive reminders by email and can change passwords by going to the intranet on any HA workstation or by accessing the ‘IT hotline’ on the HR app. To find out more, call 2643 5122.

A strong password should contain at least eight characters with at least three character types from a combination of uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. The longer the password the better. Fuller advises making your password unique and using a different password for personal and business accounts. To prevent getting hacked or scammed, he adds, you can create a unique passphrase by picking different words that have a meaning only to yourself, thereby making it easy to remember but hard to crack. An example is London8573brownie – made up of a person’s favourite city, vehicle registration, and favourite food.

Report phishing emails

Phishing emails are a common online threat, so it is important to be aware of the tell-tale signs from the sender address, content, and tone of the message. If you are in doubt, report the phishing email by clicking the button at the top right-hand corner of the menu bar. The IT team will then investigate and block the phishing emails where necessary. In the battle against phishing, the real enemies are greed, curiosity, urgency and fear. So never click a link, open an attachment or respond to an email if you are in any doubt.

Enhanced cyber security measures

To strengthen the HA’s defence against cyber attack, the Information Technology and Health Informatics Division will implement a series of measures in the coming year, including the improvement of intelligence on cyber security and upgrade of internal security controls. Workshops and online materials will also be provided for employees from different departments to raise awareness about the importance of effective cyber security.