Let’s start by introducing VPNwelt. How did you get started, and what’s your mission?
VPNWelt is a brainchild of mine dedicated to cybersecurity and proven ways to make online browsing safe for internet users. Our team of meticulous and tech-savvy experts searches for urgent topics to cover them for our readers on a regular basis. Moreover, we try and test various VPN services on their own to recommend the best ones on the market. We often have debates regarding VPNs during our meetings because every expert has their own opinion about this or that service.
And talking about why the VPNwelt project was born, it’s a funny story. Of course, it wasn’t funny when it happened. It was the early 2000’s. I was more naive back then. I got a malware email from a user who used my friend’s name. I opened this letter which included a couple of files. I downloaded them, which caused major operational issues and data loss. Now I am grateful for that situation. It made me rethink my ignorant way of using the internet and inspired me to help thousands of people to protect themselves online.
Many still believe that blogging is risk-free, which is a myth. What do you think are the worst cyberthreats today for bloggers?
I fully agree with you. It’s not a risk-free activity for every user. According to Cybercrime Magazine, for instance, by the end of 2021, cybercrime is expected to cost the world $6 trillion. So, cyberthreats found their way into the lives of common people, bloggers, and big enterprises.
As a blogger myself, I often face the following issues:
- Malware is contaminated software that takes the form of viruses, worms, ransom- and spyware. Using such a threat, a hacker can obtain your personal information and make your system inoperable.
- Phishing, the aim of which is to steal sensitive data and use it for a hacker’s personal needs, is a fake email that goes with specific instructions.
- Password attacks. Unfortunately, many of us still reuse our passwords on multiple platforms or have very simple ones to this day. Hackers can trick people into telling their passwords, access a database of leaked passwords, or even guess them.
- Insider threats. A sneaky employee (manager) or a former one with ill intentions who had or used to have access to crucial information about your company that can be sold or used against you.
Can you also share some safety tips for people blogging on WordPress?
If you want to make sure your blog on WordPress is safe, take the following steps on a regular basis (once a month would be enough):
- Change your password. I have already mentioned the issue of reusing passwords, which is common among those who are sure no hacker will ever attack them. (Let’s not only hope it won’t happen to you but also use preventive measures, deal?). Furthermore, even if your WordPress password doesn’t coincide with other ones of yours, you still need to change it from time to time to be on the save side. You might need an online password generator to create a strong password and a password manager to keep it in a safe yet easy-to-reach place for you and your colleagues.
- Limit access to your website. If you are not the only author on your WordPress blog, you can regulate the number of functions and permissions you give your contributors or authors. They don’t necessarily need admin access to be able to post articles.
- Limit login attempts. If you enable this WordPress feature, it would be much harder for a hacker to find out your login data and access your content.
- Update WordPress. Even though all the update notifications may seem redundant and even annoying, they help to keep the platform improved and secured. Moreover, the same rule applies to your themes and plugins. In order to avoid any bugs and potential security breaches, you may want to update them as well.
- Check the security of your website. With the help of specialized plugins, you can scan your WordPress blog for any vulnerabilities. If anything suspicious is found, such scanners delete it at once.
- Utilize SSL. To encrypt your admin data and ensure safe data transfer between the user browser and the server, utilizing SSL or Secure Socket Layer is recommended.
- Use a VPN. A trustworthy VPN service creates a protected network connection, encrypts your traffic, and hides your IP address. So, while researching a new topic, you will have access to geo-restricted content if it’s an issue in your country. Moreover, you will be able to share your content or any other vital and confidential information with your colleagues.
More specifically, how do you keep your data and privacy safe on VPNwelt?
Firstly, the VPNWelt team uses all the above-mentioned tips (so you can be sure that they are working).
Secondly, like VPN, proxy, and anti-virus enthusiasts, we try and test various services regularly. What is more, we often combine them to see how they work together and if it’s necessary to use a couple of services at once.
For instance, according to our recent research and tests, if you use a VPN, a proxy server is needless for you. Both of them hide your IP address, but a VPN service can also keep your data encrypted and safe. And that’s exactly what a proxy server can’t do.
And looking into the future, what are the cybersecurity trends to keep an eye on in the next few years?
As a cybersecurity expert myself and looking through lots of research materials and statistics, that’s what I can tell you regarding the cybersecurity trends:
Increased demand for cybersecurity experts
Organizations (especially Financial, Healthcare, Higher Education Institutions)will face many cyber threats. The demand for cybersecurity professionals who will prevent or deal with such threats will rise.
Moreover, not only organizations will suffer from cybersecurity threats. Common internet users will also need to stay alert. And in this case, cybersecurity experts will be required to explain to internet users how to use the internet safely.
Artificial intelligence and automation will be on rise
I won’t surprise you by saying that the usage of artificial intelligence by successful companies will increase. Many of them will equip themselves with such technologies as CCTV systems and AI, which plays a crucial role in automating security systems online. What is more, VPN services are also of great importance here because they create a safe online workplace for each and every employee.
Identity security and data privacy will be at threat
Identity theft or account takeovers are one of the most common types of threats nowadays. A hacker can try to access your private information. So, it would help if you always used multi-factor authentication, updated your devices regularly, changed your passwords, and used only strong ones. For an added layer of security, you can try a VPN.