After a year and a half of cancelled global events, the 2021 summer season is proving to be full of major sporting events across the globe, and all sports are well represented. Whether you are preparing to watch the UEFA Euro 2020 final or the Wimbledon tournament, or planning to watch the Olympics or the National Bank Open with your family and friends, the next few weeks are sure to be full of colorful and noteworthy sporting performances to watch.
If you will be watching to sports events via online streaming, whether it’s on your SmartTV, laptop, tablet or cell phone, the following tips will keep you and your personal data safe.
Prepare your network and devices
1 – Protect your router connection information
Network connection and online listening go hand in hand with router. This device, which allows you to connect many devices to your network wirelessly, is the first step of your streaming, but also a major entry point for potential cybercriminals. Before you begin live streaming any broadcast – or better yet, connecting any IoT device – it’s important to make sure your router is configured securely. We invite you to check out this blogpost, which will walk you step-by-step through securing your router in five easy steps.
2- Sort your networks
Many devices are probably linked to your router. A good practice to secure your router, and therefore your entire home network, is to list the devices and create separate networks with customized permissions, to better protect the most sensitive devices.
Reviewing the list of devices will allow you to disable the ones you don’t use or no longer use. This step will make it easier to detect an intrusion attempt, since you will already be familiar with the names of the devices connected to your network.
3- Configure your Smart TV or smart device
Like all your connected devices – and your router! – your Smart TV needs to be configured properly, to ensure security and functionality. Each model and manufacturer uses different features and functionality, so please refer to the documentation associated with your device for detailed instructions.
Either way, we strongly encourage you to configure the privacy settings on your devices and the information you allow the provider to collect – or share with third parties. Several providers have received a red card from authorities for collecting personal information from their customers – including voice recording and browsing habits.
Remember, too, that all enabled features can pose a risk. Unpatched flaws in them can serve as openings through which cybercriminals can sneak in. So remember to disable features you don’t use. Also think about the configuration of the protection measures offered by the provider, the updates – we will get back to this – and, if necessary, the parental control!
4- Install the latest updates
As always, the basic cybersecurity tips apply to streaming. Regardless of the type of device you plan to listen to upcoming games on, remember that cybercriminals are always trying to find a vulnerability for their dark purposes. A vulnerability is a flaw in an application that makes it possible for an unwanted or erroneous action to be performed, which cybercriminals can use to attack your devices. By updating regularly, you will have the latest patches developed by the manufacturer, thus preventing cybercriminals taking advantage of known and patched vulnerabilities to infiltrate.
Unlike the operating system of your computer or smartphone, the firmware of most IoT devices is not updated automatically. Check the vendor’s website, with your device’s model number and currently installed firmware version, to see if updates are available.
5- Use a security solution
As with your computer or smartphone, your smart devices can be infected by malware or other types of cyberthreats. Therefore, using a comprehensive security solution from a reputable vendor is essential, to ensure these devices are protected. Available on the Google Play Store, ESET® Smart TV Security is an example of a solution that offers you real-time protection against viruses and ransomware, in addition to automated virus database updates.