Home | Solutions Blog | digital reputation
Posts tagged "digital reputation"
Although there is a great deal of excitement over the concept of a breach-proof internet, for now Data security training is the only foolproof protection businesses have against the Syrian Electronic Army, Chinese hackers and a host of other internet-based attackers.
Such attackers know that employees tend to be the first line of defense against hackers targeting businesses and they’ve been succesfully breaching sensitive data—financial records, trade secrets and personal information — in more and more high profile cases.
But what if the internet was “hacker-proof”?
Researchers at Los Alamos National Labs in New Mexico believe they have found a way to use quantum physics to cloak internet communications. Businessweek explains that this method, which researchers call “network-centric quantum communications,” uses “digital keys, generated by a truly random set of numbers, theoretically [leaving] hackers with no way to figure out the key’s internal coding.”
As you might imagine, it’s a complicated process, and one that is not without its flaws:
Posted in Cyber Data Security by Identity Theft Speaker John Sileo.
Tags: data security training, digital reputation
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
Facebook identity thefts are nothing new. The social media site has been the vehicle for all sorts of fake links and bots in years past. But a new trick that could threaten your digital reputation is proving particularly insidious.
If you get a message to “Experience Facebook Black” sometime soon, you’d be advised to turn it down, unless you’re OK with your digital reputation being hijacked. This latest hack could spread malicious software without you or your Facebook friends even knowing until it’s too late.
The scam allegedly works by offering users the chance to change the color of the Facebook background to black – and then asks for users to respond to a series of questions by giving out information. Of course, the promised color conversion is a lie: play into the hands of this fraud and you’ll just wind up as a means of spreading it further, with your information used to make a dummy page to trick your connections.
Posted in Digital Reputation & Trust by Identity Theft Speaker John Sileo.
Tags: digital reputation, online reputation consultant, social media exposure
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
Threats to online security have been coming thick and fast. But a new study shows that CEO's may finally be taking notice. Is that enough?
If there's an upside to the recent rash of hacks and digital subterfuge, it may be that businesses are beginning to see the ugly reality of online privacy exposure. According to the Wall Street Journal, a study by analysts at AIG recently showed that more executives are concerned about breaches than harm to their property. Eighty-five percent of executives polled placed more emphasis on their information and digital reputation than their physical holdings.
Awareness is one thing, but are these executives putting their money where their mouth is?
It appears so. Studies show that there has been a corresponding increase in the amount of money recently spent by retail companies on cyber security measures and experienced anti-fraud experts. It's remarkable what a little bad press (hacking of the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Twitter, Evernote) will do to motivate previously complacent companies.
Posted in Cyber Data Security by Identity Theft Speaker John Sileo.
Tags: Cyber Security, digital reputation, Identity Theft Prevention, online identity
So far, 2013 has been the Year of the Hack, as the past few weeks have proven positively lousy with big-name security breaches.
Social networks, news outlets, and now…jeeps and fast food? That’s right, recent events have seen two prominent businesses get their Twitter accounts hacked, and worse. Not only did identity pirates shanghai the feeds (and therefore the reputations) of Burger King and Jeep, they used this illegal access to send embarrassing and scandalous messages to their followers.
Last Monday, @BurgerKing began tweeting that it had been sold to McDonalds, changing its image to a golden arches logo and posting ridiculous, wildly provocative comments about rappers and mad cow disease. The same thing happened to Jeep the next day, when its account claimed it had been sold to Cadillac and that its CEO had been fired for doing drugs.
Posted in Digital Reputation & Trust by Identity Theft Speaker John Sileo.
Tags: data security breaches, digital reputation, social media reputation, social media risk management
Your social media privacy, if ignored, could can leave your digital reputation on life support.
Everyone from CEOs and company founders to part-time employees leave their own digital footprints on social media platforms, and how they comport themselves doesn’t always stay as private as it might seem. That’s why it’s important to think carefully about exactly what information you’re putting out there. Even a popular site like OkCupid.com, which prides itself on its smart, statistic-driven design, temporarily made its users’ information public through a security glitch last month.
The glitch was in the company’s “Crazy Blind Date” app, which normally only reveals its members’ first names, locations, sexual preferences and a scrambled photo. Although it lasted less than a day and there were reportedly no instances of data being stolen, users found their information at risk and out of their control.
Posted in Online Privacy by Identity Theft Speaker John Sileo.
Tags: digital reputation, Online Reputation, Social Media Privacy, ways to avoid identity theft
Are we entering an age where one’s digital reputation is a form of career currency – or are we already there?
That is the subject of an article in Forbes last month that gets some things right and others wrong. It absolutely seems like online histories and reputations could become more important than resumes, portfolios and credit scores.
Our digital footprints are already considered by others when determining if they want to hire or do business with us. And many people don’t even have a traditional resume anymore, but have substituted it with a LinkedIn profile.
Forbes goes through a handful of questions and offers its own answers on the topic. Yes, everything we do on the Web, from Facebook to Twitter to LinkedIn, is becoming more and more connected, meaning that they influence one another as well as how others perceive us. But, there are a few things that the article misses the mark on.
Posted in Digital Reputation & Trust by Identity Theft Speaker John Sileo.
Tags: digital reputation, internet privacy, Online Reputation
Let’s start with a tip today. If you fire your company’s social media manager, you might want to disable their access to the business’ official Twitter account first – and every other social media platform, too.
British company HMV learned that lesson the hard way when an employee live-tweeted her firing. Here are some of the tweets she sent out from the company’s Twitter handle before her access was shut off:
“We’re tweeting live from HR where we’re all being fired! Exciting!!!”
“There are over 60 of us being fired at once! Mass execution of loyal employees who love the brand. #hmvXFactorFiring”
In another amusing twist – amusing at least to everyone but HMV management – the employee tweeted that she overheard the company’s marketing director ask “How do I shut down Twitter?”.
Posted in Digital Reputation & Trust by Identity Theft Speaker John Sileo.
Tags: digital reputation, social media risk management
