Rural Serenity Through Cybersecurity

It’s been a minute since I’ve penned a column, but Janice Bryant’s article celebrating the ruralness of our community (“Here's Looking at Ewe,” February 2025) inspired me to revisit something that’s been on my mind — cybersecurity. And although this may at first seem like a strange pairing of topics, it reminded me that as “We embrace the dark nights, stars and the moon lighting the forests,” as Janice so eloquently stated, we also interact with the world “Off Peninsula,” or OP as I’ve come to affectionately call it, via bit and bytes, one hard-fought MB at a time.

This dichotomy of our rural existence, coupled with the computers and Wi-Fi pucks stashed around our abodes, is part of what defines our daily lives. Many of us work from home these days, our professional and personal lives interwoven with nature, the drone of Zoom calls and clicking keyboards intermingled with the sounds of spring birds, bleating goats, sheep and ducks, and the beautiful scenery we’re so lucky to enjoy every day.

But in this hybrid existence lurk more threats than we sometimes pay attention to, hiding in the recesses of our computers and struggling internet connections.

In 2022, 800,944 cybercrimes with over $10 billion in losses were reported, according to USA Facts. I suspect we all know someone who has been affected by a phishing scam, a fake email, a healthcare data breach, or even an unsolicited text asking us to pay a toll we might have forgotten about. Maybe it’s happened to you.

The toll-due “smishing” text is particularly noxious for us KP residents because who among us hasn’t missed a toll or two on the Narrows Bridge due to a replaced windshield, spare car (the one with the “Follow Me to Drive Thru Feed” bumper sticker and no toll tag), or a teenager who likes to drive around with the toll tag in the glove box? This text usually comes in as a WSDOT Good to Go “final reminder” with a link to pay. This is not a valid text. Yes, you probably have tolls due. But this is not the way to pay. As with all similar queries or demands, directly log in to the targeted account to check your status.

With such a deluge of information about what to click on, what not to, and how to keep yourself and your family safe online, it can be a daunting task to know where to start. But let’s begin with some practical measures you can take today to make it a little harder for your data, your bank account information, or your personal healthcare details to get held for ransom.

We’ve heard it all before, but your P@ssword! is not secure. Nor is the one you’ve been using since 2007. And I appreciate that you have 30, but I also suspect that they’re all relatively similar and not that hard to guess (P@ssword1 and P@ssword2 are not going to foil the bad guys). So, do yourself this one favor today: acquire a free password manager like LastPass or Bitwarden, and start using different passphrases on your critical accounts.

A good passphrase should be around 15 to 25 characters long, easy to remember, and something you can quickly type, like “My First Car was a 1969 Blue VW Bug!” And although that was my first car, it’s not my phrase, and you probably shouldn’t use it now either.

For those of you so inclined, we’re linking this article back to the digital version of the KP News so that you can click here (or search for “Your Home Network Isn’t Fort Knox”) and deep dive into the specifics of your router and update your encryption, admin credentials, and password. It’s not that hard, I promise. There are also some suggested ChatGPT prompts that work fine with the free version if you want to put in your router details and get clear step-by-step directions. I’ve also included the instructions for commonly used routers.

Hopefully tonight, as you take in the moonlight illuminating the treelines and meadows of our rural landscape, you can rest a little easier knowing you’ve checked at least a few boxes off that invisible cybersecurity list. Stay safe, stay secure.

Thad Dickson is CEO of Xpio Health, a Gig Harbor company focused on security and compliance for healthcare organizations. He lives in Lakebay.