PENNSYLVANIA, USA — No flashing lights and sirens, just keyboards and computer screens—that’s how cyber criminals are operating.
Google cybersecurity expert Kaylin Trychon says those "bad actors" are waiting to strike and steal your information.
“People moved inside and online for every aspect of their life," she said. "That’s a lot of personal information to have out there and during this same time we saw a dramatic increase in cyber crime."
According to a report from IBM, 82% of respondents admitted they reuse passwords across multiple accounts, which Trychon says is one of the biggest security issues Americans face.
“The reality is people create one really good password and then reuse that across all of their accounts," she said. "The problem with that is if a bad actor gets access to that password they now have access to all of your accounts”
So how can you protect yourself? Trychon’s number one tip is to use a password manager.
“One of the things Google has done is make a password manager," she said. "We built it right into the account and into the browser."
Google's built-in password manager enables you to create stronger passwords so that it's less likely that your account gets hacked
"We take the burden...we manage them, we cycle them out and we scan them so if a bad actor does have access to your credentials, we alert you so you can change them," she explained.
Trychon says the biggest thing you can do right now for yourself and friends and family is to take stock of your security settings.
"If you’re going to take any action today, head over to Google's Security Checkup and just really do your due diligence," she said. "Your accounts and your identity will thank you.”