Last week, our Data Privacy + Cybersecurity Insider reached a milestone—we hit our 100th privacy tip! This week, we mark that milestone with a special edition Privacy Tip: the top 10 most-viewed privacy tips. Our readers can use this list as a refresher resource for some of the most important privacy tips to remember at work and … Continue Reading
It is one thing to steal our identity as an adult, but children are defenseless against this type of fraud. According to Experian, it handles 25,000-30,000 cases of identity theft and fraud every year and a whopping 17 percent affected children and the estimate is that it will affect up to 25 percent of children … Continue Reading
Last January, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) launched the IoT Home Inspector Challenge, a contest that requested participants to come up with a tool that would identify security issues that are caused by out-of-date software in IoT devices to better educate and protect consumers about the security vulnerabilities of IoT devices. To remind you of … Continue Reading
We all dream about winning the lottery or the Publishers Clearing House folks secretly coming up our walkway and knocking on our door telling us we won millions of dollars. Well, I do. Unfortunately, because we all wish for such luck, criminals prey on our wishes and have come up with a scam where they … Continue Reading
I have lamented repeatedly that we have a dearth of cyber talent in the U.S. to meet the needs of employers. Many of our clients recruit talent from other countries in order to meet their cyber needs. The need continues to grow, and we are not addressing it adequately. Although we are starting to develop … Continue Reading
As you head to the beach or hammock for a bit of R+R this summer, here is one that you might want on the reading list. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has been publishing a report entitled “Who Has Your Back” since 2010. The point of the report is to assess major digital companies’ attitude … Continue Reading
I don’t own an Echo, and Alexa is not listening to all of the conversations in my home. If that were the case, I would have no credibility in writing weekly Privacy Tips. Echo has evolved, and now I am told and have read that the newest craze is the Echo Show. (Shocker–I don’t have … Continue Reading
One of my favorite lines when I conduct employee education about data privacy and cybersecurity is “Keep Your Day Job.” The context of the comment is when I tell audiences about the dumb moves of employees who think they can steal their company’s data and use it, sell it or do nefarious things with it … Continue Reading
I am from Wisconsin, so I am a Badger fan. Actually a double Badger fan, as I am a big fan of the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s (EFF) Privacy Badger. According to the EFF’s website, Privacy Badger “is a browser extension that automatically blocks hidden third-party trackers that would otherwise follow you around the web and … Continue Reading
For those of you who know me, you know that I have been very frustrated with the federal and state governments for continuing to use Social Security numbers for eligibility, enrollment and participating in Medicare and Medicaid. This includes listing individuals’ Social Security numbers on the Medicare and Medicaid cards. The good news is that … Continue Reading
Social networking app Wishbone, which is used primarily by teenage girls to vote on various teenage type quizzes, like favorite entertainers or fashion, has been hacked. The intruders have reportedly gained access to users’ (again, primarily female minors) names, unique email addresses and mobile telephone numbers. Not just a few, either. The data compromised included … Continue Reading
We hear daily about another payment card breach at a retail store, restaurant chain or hotel line. The response to a payment card breach differs from company to company. I get a lot of questions about payment card breaches and why some companies provide credit monitoring and others don’t, why some companies provide individual notification … Continue Reading
It is hard enough for middle agers like me to stay up on all the ways our personal information can be collected, accessed, used, disclosed, sold or stolen. It is even harder for our loved ones who are older, but not necessarily wiser in the digital age. Here are some tips for care givers to … Continue Reading
Over the past week, many clients and individuals have asked me why some companies and health care facilities were devastated by the WannaCry ransomware, and why others made it through the weekend without a blink of an eye. Simplistically, it is because those who pay attention to security patches that they receive from technology vendors … Continue Reading
This week (May 8-12, 2017) is Privacy Awareness Week—an annual initiative of the Asia Pacific Privacy Authorities Forum (APPA) that concentrates on sharing information about privacy practices and rules. The APPA is an interesting group made up of privacy regulators from Australia, British Columbia, Canada, Colombia, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Macao, Mexico, New South Wales, … Continue Reading
University of Michigan researchers have discovered that hundreds of applications in Google Play turn Android phones into a server that allow the user to connect the phone directly to a PC and leave open insecure ports available on the smartphone. What does this mean? It means attackers can use the open insecure port to get … Continue Reading
A new but old scam is on the rise and is reportedly hitting droves of unwary and vulnerable consumers. This new but old scam has increased now that tax season is over, and W2 scams are difficult to succeed this time of year. The criminals are always trying to find ways to make money, and … Continue Reading
Phone call scams are on the rise. In addition to scam artists posing as employees of utility companies (see Privacy Tip #84), the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has issued a warning to consumers about a phone scam involving imposters of its agency. The imposters call consumers saying they are from the OIG and … Continue Reading
We often talk about how anything that is connected to the Internet is hackable and unsafe, and to be careful about how you buy and connect devices, products, appliances, home security systems and other wireless “things.” These are called the Internet of Things, or “IoT.” Alexa is an IoT “thing.” Cybersecurity literature constantly warns us … Continue Reading
Remember when TV was free? Okay, most of you don’t, and I was just a tot, but back in the day, it was free. We didn’t have dozens of channels or choices, but everyone could watch the major networks and PBS without a cost. These days, there are charges for everything—including downloading music, videos and … Continue Reading
People always ask me if I use a password manager. The answer is no. I am too paranoid to put all of my passwords in one place. Instead, I prefer to use variations on complex pass phrases that I can remember and I change them frequently. I have a good memory, so it works for … Continue Reading
Many people were shocked and outraged over the story I relayed about a U.S. citizen, in fact, a NASA scientist, who, after returning from racing solar cars abroad was required by Custom and Border Patrol (CBP) agents to hand over his NASA issued mobile phone and password. The story raises all sorts of privacy issues … Continue Reading
What a great idea! Trusty Consumer Reports has announced that it is collaborating with three cybersecurity firms to “create a new standard that safeguards consumers’ security and privacy—and we hope industry will use that standard when building and designing digital products such as connected devices, software, and mobile apps.” The standard is a response to … Continue Reading
I frequently get complaints from small businesses that they don’t have the resources or resilience to properly address cybersecurity and that it is overwhelming to them. Well, it is. We frequently tell businesses that they must be prepared as they might not think they are targets, but they are. But what happened to the relevance … Continue Reading
