Navigating Digital Security with Awareness Over Fear

As you may or may not know, in addition to my work in facilitation and coaching around well-being and self-discovery, I also work as a cybersecurity consultant. While I haven’t written much about it, I often find myself reflecting on how we can bring more humanity into conversations about digital safety—and reduce the fear-based narratives that often dominate the topic.

Recently, I came across an article that nudged me to share some thoughts. Malwarebytes, an antivirus and antimalware service I use, published an article titled Security Expert Troy Hunt Hit by Phishing Attack, about Troy Hunt who also write a blog post about the incident called A Sneaky Phish Just Grabbed My Mailchimp Mailing List. What struck me most wasn’t the technical details—it was the tone, honesty, and transparency regarding the incident. Even one of the most well-known cybersecurity experts fell for a phishing scam. Yes, he was frustrated with himself, as all of us would be, but he shared his experience honestly and openly, which helps us all to continue building our awareness and understand that we are all susceptible in this area.

The reality is, we live in a digital world, and whether we like it or not, cybersecurity is part of all of our lives. For too long, this space has been driven by fear, uncertainty, and doubt. But fear isn’t empowering. Shame doesn’t support us when we need help. And pretending we're immune only makes us more vulnerable.

Cybercriminals rely on our very human qualities—our rushed mornings and evenings, our late night checks of our phones, our trust in familiar names, our overfull inboxes—to catch us off guard. And, every one of us will likely be affected by an incident or many in our lifetimes. Including you. Including me. Including the experts.

So what if, instead of staying in the overwhelm of fear that keeps us stuck and uninformed or shaming ourselves when things do go wrong, we approach cybersecurity with awareness and compassion? Leaning in to curiosity over paranoia, response over reactivity, and care over criticism.

Let’s shift the narrative and our mindset, and let's support one another in staying informed and in recovery from incidents.

Here are a few simple, proactive steps you can take to enhance your protections:

• Install antivirus and antimalware software on your devices—and make sure it’s running. You can learn more about these programs here: https://www.malwarebytes.com/cybersecurity/basics/antivirus

• Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) or use passkeys wherever possible. It adds a crucial layer of security. I know it’s annoying, but it’s currently one of the best options to protect our accounts. Check out this video from CISA for more: https://www.cisa.gov/secure-our-world/turn-mfa

• Keep your software updated—those updates often include vital security patches. Embrace the work the software provider does to help keep you protected. Reference this article from CISA to learn how: https://www.cisa.gov/resources-tools/training/keep-your-devices-operating-system-and-applications-date

• Treat your data with care, and be aware of who you share your data with and what they are doing with your data. We all wish everyone was diligently protecting our data, but that unfortunately isn’t the world we live in. Not everyone can be trusted with this valuable resource.

• Stay mindful and diligent with emails, texts, and phone calls that ask for personal, login, or financial info or create urgency. This is where mindfulness and self-awareness can support you, especially when you know that when you’re tired or rushed you’re more likely to act on the message rather than recognize it for what it is. If you are concerned and want to verify account details, don’t click on any links in the email and instead go to the site or app directly and verify details there.

• Know where to go for help if your information is compromised. If something does happen, know that you’re not alone. Take a deep breath, and share your incident with the appropriate people. You may need to change your login credentials, talk to customer service, cancel credit cards, or more. Having a plan beforehand reduces panic and overwhelm. Also report the incident to the proper authority, so others can learn from the incident as well. The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) and FTC are a couple places you can report cyber crime.

Cyberattacks are becoming more sophisticated, but that doesn’t mean we have to live in fear. Awareness is empowerment. Learning and being diligent with your actions online empowers you. Resources like IC3 and the National Cybersecurity Alliance are great resources to learn from at this time.

Let’s stop pretending cybersecurity is too intimidating and overwhelming to learn about. It’s not just for so-called techies, and falling for a scam doesn’t mean you’re incapable or naïve. We’re all vulnerable. And we’re all capable of becoming more informed, more resourced, and more resilient—together. Remember: being informed is part of being empowered. We are all fallible, and that’s okay. Let’s make room for grace, resilience, and support—not shame—when navigating the digital world.

You are worthy of safety, both offline and online.

What do you think about this post? Was it helpful? Please let me know by commenting or emailing me at rachelle@rachelleniemann.com.