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The jaw-dropping attack on the Associated Press last week may finally cause Twitter to start safeguarding our online identity – and it may even jolt us out of our apathy.
We’ve seen serious Twitter breaches for months. Hackers have damaged the digital reputations of major corporations and cultural groups. But Tuesday, the whole world was jolted when hackers falsely sent an AP tweet reporting that there had been two explosions at the White House. Within seconds, investors unloaded $139 billion worth of stocks, as reported by AP. Not all those investors were human; many were computers on autopilot doing high-speed trading. But the consequences are just as real and far reaching.
Posted in Online Privacy by Identity Theft Speaker John Sileo.
Tags: digital footprint, digital reputation, online identity
Here’s a spooky thought: there’s a good chance your online reputation could outlive you on the web – and still be vulnerable to attacks.
Have you ever wondered what will happen to your digital information after you’re gone? It’s a morbid topic, but no less important than dividing up your estate or making plans for your life insurance. Even once you’re no longer posting or “liking” on networks like Facebook, it’s possible that your name will stay active, unless you take plans to deactivate it. And if you don’t, you leave it to the whims of whichever company controls your data – or hackers that manage to steal it.
Some systems already exist to help cope with this situation. Facebook lets you turn the page of a recently departed loved one into a memorial site. Google has recently announced a service currently called “Inactive Account Manager” to allow you to set up “retirement” plans for your profiles after they go a certain amount of time without being used. This is worth considering even if you have no plans of shuffling off this mortal coil any time soon, as it’s a way of keeping forgotten email addresses and other services from cluttering up your computer and impacting your online reputation.
Posted in Digital Reputation & Trust by Identity Theft Speaker John Sileo.
Tags: Online Reputation
Big Data is an economic juggernaut as well as a ripe opportunity to forfeit your profitable data privacy. Businesses and consumers should consider the potential costs – and what they hope to get in return.
Not so long ago, the internet was a very different place. Users were advised never to give out their names or addresses, to avoid talking to people they don’t know and to keep all personal identifiers secret. Data privacy was something we were thinking about constantly, especially when it came to sensitive information. Cyberspace was thought first and foremost to be a place filled with strangers where we must tread with caution.
Today, we’ve swung too far in the other direction. We all but depend upon the internet to connect, to make ourselves public, to be seen by as many people as possible all over the world. Entire sites exist to promote us, and the sort of things we used to carefully consider before disclosing, we now sign away without a second thought, completely unaware of what we are putting on display.
Posted in Online Privacy by Identity Theft Speaker John Sileo.
Tags: "Data Privacy", "Privacy Training", data abuse, data privacy expert
With all the news about fraud hitting big name companies, you might think that identity theft training is only for the corporate giants. Think again.
A study recently performed by a subcommittee in the U.S. House has revealed an alarming statistic: small businesses are a target for digital criminals just as celebrity brands like Twitter and Facebook attract fraudulent attention. But unlike those huge companies, smaller names usually have less to spend on security and are therefore more vulnerable to those kinds of attacks. According to a report mentioned in a statement by the subcommittee’s chairman Chris Collins, 60 percent of small businesses hit by online attacks end up closing within six months.
Here are some more rather frightening tidbits, courtesy of the same source: 87 percent of smaller businesses don’t even have an official written security policy. And attacks on companies with fewer than 250 employees apparently make up 20 percent of the total number of instances of online infringement. It’s not just the total gross that draws the attention of data thugs, and just because you’re not raking in billions doesn’t mean you’ll go unnoticed.
Posted in Identity Theft Prevention by Identity Theft Speaker John Sileo.
Tags: identity theft expert, identity theft training, Online identity theft
Those interested in how to prevent identity theft can attend the InsightOne20 conference on March 16, where John Sileo will be presenting along with Seth Godin. Guests can register for the event on the InsightOne20 website.
The presentation, entitled “Spies, Hackers and Facebook Attackers: Bulletproofing Your Privacy & Profits in the Digital Age,” will contain information and instruction on how best to avoid the pitfalls of digital privacy and social media. The conference is hosted by City National Bank, and is considered a premiere event for small businesses. It will take place at the LA Convention Center.
Businesses of all sizes have many risks to consider when it comes to the stakes of modern commerce. Social media and even basic online browsing bring with them a host of dangers that concern your digital reputation. But the risk is especially palpable for startups and growing companies that may not yet have a strong security network in place. All data is valuable, and this presentation will seek to impart some wisdom about the best way to keep your information secure while promoting healthy online habits.
Posted in Digital Reputation & Trust by Identity Theft Speaker John Sileo.
Tags: “How to Prevent Identity Theft”, digital reputation, Online Reputation
Evernote gets hacked, prompts us to look at the sensitive information we store in the program.
Evernote, the online note-taking service that gives you access to all of your notes on all of your devices through the cloud was hacked this week. In an attempt to keep the cyber hackers from stealing all of our notes, they quickly reset every user’s password. Here’s what you need to know:
- If you use Evernote, you were hacked.
- Your first step should be to visit Evernote.com and attempt to login. This will force a reset of your password.
- Make sure that your password is 13+ characters and contains upper and lower case letters, numbers, symbols and isn’t a word a hacker could find in a dictionary, on your Facebook page or by easily guessing.
Posted in Cyber Data Security, Identity Theft Prevention by Identity Theft Speaker John Sileo.
Identity theft prevention is not a one-time solution. You must accumulate layers of privacy and security over time. The following identity theft prevention tips are among those I cover in one of my keynote speeches.
- Review your Free Credit Report 3X per year at www.AnnualCreditReport.com.
- Opt-Out of financial junk mail.
- Stop Marketing Phone Calls at www.DoNotCall.gov.
- Freeze Your Credit. State-by-state instructions at www.Sileo.com/2.
- If you don’t want to use a credit freeze, place Fraud Alerts on your 3 credit files.
- Use sophisticated Identity Monitoring software to detect theft before it’s disastrous.
- Stop Sharing Identity (SSN, address, phone, credit card #s) unless necessary.
- Protect Your Wallet or Purse. Watch this video.
- Protect Your Computer and Online Identity. Privacy Means Profit
- Protect your Laptop. Visit www.Sileo.com/laptop-anti-theft for details.
- Bank Online: online bank statements, account alerts and bill-pay.
Posted in Identity Theft Prevention by Identity Theft Speaker John Sileo.
Tags: Data Breach, Fraud Protection, identity monitoring, Identity Theft Prevention, Identity Theft Protection, John Sileo, opt out, Prevention, Protection, social networking safety, Tips
Cyber attacks are a danger we face on a grand scale, not just as individuals, but as a country.
The past few years, America has been quietly (and not-so quietly) hit by one wave after another of devastating hacks. Last week, as this blog discussed, the government gave a long-overdue response to the matter of cyber-security. During his State of the Union address, President Obama announced that he had signed an executive order taking action against digital security breaches.
The President went on to identify key areas of our infrastructure that might come under attack, saying, "our enemies are also seeking the ability to sabotage our power grid, our financial institutions, and our air traffic control systems."
If it still sounds far-fetched, consider that just this past year has seen an astounding number of attacks on oil, natural gas and electricity structures in the U.S. Hackers raided these systems for information, and the number of strikes was up more than 50 percent higher than what it was in 2011, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Posted in Cyber Data Security by Identity Theft Speaker John Sileo.
Tags: data security breach, digital security, online privacy
Myth: Mac users are armored against viruses, malware and identity theft.
Apple has a reputation for building computers with strong cyber security and protection from online threats. Remember those commercials where PCs were mocked for being more likely to "get sick"? Over the years, devoted iFans may have developed the belief that nothing can touch them and they are always safe. But recent news reports show that the same attacks launched against Facebook recently were also made on the computers of Apple employees earlier this week. This underlines a key point: When it comes to online attacks, no one is bulletproof.
Sources say that, as with Facebook, the source of a breach was a dangerous piece of software that hijacked the Java plug-ins of various web browsers. It was also distributed through a seemingly secure website for mobile developers. Although once again no data has been reported as being compromised, this still represents a red flag for anyone with sensitive material on the net – and these days, that's almost everybody. If some of the biggest names in the business can be susceptible to breaches like this, what makes your business safe?
Posted in Cyber Data Security by Identity Theft Speaker John Sileo.
Tags: "prevention of identity theft", Cyber Security, identity theft prevention plan
