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Identity theft protection (Would you know if there were two of you?)

Posted on January 25, 2017 by Jean Eaton in Blog

Would you know if there were two of you? Identity theft is a growing problem but there are things that you can do to protect yourself.

Identity theft happens when someone steals your personal information and uses it without your consent – to make purchases, take out loans, get medical services – and more! Victims can end up with drained bank accounts, destroyed credit, and the enormous task of fixing the problem.

5 tips to protect yourself from identity theft

  • Set up a schedule to review your credit card and bank statements – monthly, quarterly – and always have a ballpark in mind of your spending history
  • Once you've reviewed your statements, make sure that you've shredded the paper documents that you no longer need (and keep them in a secure place while you do need them!) By shredding your bank and credit card statements, you can prevent thieves from “dumpster-diving” for the easy information.
  • Set up a Google Alert for your name, business name, and other key identifiers (but not your account numbers).  You will receive a listing of whenever your name appears in the internet.
  • Limit the amount of personal information that you share on-line, in stores, and on the forms that you fill out.  Ask why they need your information.
  • Install and update anti-virus and malware protection software on your smartphone. Malware and viruses can access and steal personal information, which can lead to identity theft. ‪

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Smart Appliances and Big Data

Posted on January 30, 2015 by Jean Eaton in Blog

Smart appliances may be too smart for our own good. Take smart TVs, for instance. As this article illustrates some of these new appliances are particularly vulnerable to hackers. Once compromised, the TVs allow access to account information, including login credentials (which owners may use for access to more than just their smart-TV account). Even scarier, hackers could gain access to front-facing cameras to see everything happening in the room where the TV is connected. Instead of you watching your favorite program, criminals may be watching you!   This may also apply to games consoles with webcams, laptops and security cameras.

Once the machine is compromised, hackers can stealthily activate its front-facing camera (available on higher-end smart TVs), hijack a user account, steal credentials by presenting fake login pages and infect other applications on the TV with malware.

Big data refers to all the massive amounts of information collected from our TV's, mobile devices, cars, appliances, even our clothes! and how those pieces of data can be compiled to create new information. Maybe having our refrigerator sending a ‘pick up milk' message to our cell phones while we are grocery shopping is a good thing.  Maybe not.

Here are some more resources for you to explore how smart you think our appliances should be:

Privacy for Everyone: Closing the Gap Between the Privacy-Have's and the Privacy Have-Nots  Address by Patricia Kosseim, Senior General Counsel and Director General, Legal Services, Policy and Research Branch, (June 2014)

Rebecca Herold (a.k.a. The Privacy Professor) for more tips.

‘Technocreep' author says new technologies have been invading our privacy like never before , CBC interview, The Current with Anna Maria Tremonti and Tom Keenan

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Email on mobile devices

Posted on January 29, 2015 by Jean Eaton in Blog

Is your email secure? Backed up? If you suddenly lose your email, calendar, or contact list, this could either be a speed bump in your busy day, or a nightmare that may take days or weeks and a lot of money to recover.

email_iconHaving sensitive information in your emails make it vulnerable to attack, and it could leave you, your clients, and your employees, open to identity fraud. If you have your emails on your mobile device, consider enabling ‘remote wipe' should you loose your phone.  There are a number of ways to perform remote wipe on mobile devices.

If your business authorizes emails on mobile devices, you need a policy to locate and wipe any lost devices.

You can also encrypt both emails and other data and voice messages between mobile devices. Pretty Good Privacy or PGP is a popular program used to encrypt and decrypt email over the Internet, as well as authenticate messages with digital signatures and encrypted stored files. Peer-to-Peer encryption can also be used.

Most smart phones allow you to change your settings to encrypt the data on your phone.

Why encrypt?

Think of it this way. If all of your information on a mobile device – even the simple family photos, address contact book, emails and all the attachments – suddenly appeared in someone else's hands – would you want them to read it? Why wouldn't you encrypt your data? Give yourself peace of mind just in case you loose your mobile device.

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Your online reputation

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Jean Eaton in Blog

Your online reputation can help you, but it can also hurt you. Unlike having a conversation in person with a friend, anything you post online can last a lifetime and be taken out of context.  Understand the consequence of your actions before posting.

Illustration from the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, www.priv.gc.ca

Illustration from the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, www.priv.gc.ca

Not only may the things we post be public to people we know and wish hadn't seen it, they may also be public to a fraudster intent on using your information for identity theft or phishing attacks posing as yourself and targeting your acquaintances. A positive online presence can help you get the job you want or get in to the college of your dreams.

Create a strong online presence by maintaining a positive profile about yourself, commenting positively about others or contributing to a blog. You can check your digital footprint by searching for your name online.

The golden rule

Only post about others as you would want posted about yourself.

Think about how something you say online can be taken out of context or how others may perceive your post. Share with care – what you post can last a lifetime.

 

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Worst Passwords

Posted on January 27, 2015 by Jean Eaton in Blog

Hack-proofing your passwords is absolutely essential, especially if run a business. Small businesses are major targets, with more than 80% being targets of opportunities.

Here's a Top 25 List you don't want to join!

SplashData has published its Top 25 Worst Passwords ranking, revealing the most used and most predictable combinations of characters on the web in 2014. Since the first edition in 2011, “123456” and “password” have consistently claimed the top two spots. The list is built on common publicly leaked passwords.

Tip – Don't get frustrated whenever you forget your password. Instead, be proud that you change your password regularly using the ‘I forgot my password' re-set function!

SplashData is a publisher of online password management solutions. Its ranking is based on over 3.3 million passwords recorded through its services, namely in the US.

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Phishing Tales

Posted on January 26, 2015 by Jean Eaton in Blog

“Hello Dear sir/madam, I have received large sum of money to be transferred to your bank account.  Please to email me right away with your account information. Many thanks.”

 

Ever get one of these emails? We're pretty good at recognizing this kind of scam, but cyber criminals are getting very clever at devising ways to hijack our personal data.

These kinds of attacks are called “social engineering attacks” and they include “phishing“, “spear phishing“, “pharming” and “vishing“. These attacks exploit human tendencies of wanting to be helpful to people in need, trusting those with some form of authority, or even just being curious or greedy.

Illustration from the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, www.priv.gc.ca

Illustration from the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, www.priv.gc.ca

Phishing awareness training is needed at all levels of your business – even CEO's have been caught by phishing scams. By claiming to be a system administrator who needs your password to fix your account, or your credit card company needing to verify your credit card number and expiration date, or someone from far away who will give you millions of dollars as soon as you send him some money first….these are all ways to gain unauthorized access to systems or information in order to commit fraud or identity theft.

4 Tips to Avoid Being a Victim

  • Install a firewall and anti-virus software on your computer.
  • Be suspicious of emails from financials institutions or other organizations that ask you to provide personal information online. Reputable firms never ask for information in this manner.
  • Look closely for clues to fraudulent emails like a lack of personal greetings and spelling or grammatical mistakes.
  • Verify a phone number before calling it – if someone left you a message or sent an email claiming to be from your financial institution, make sure you check that the number is the one printed on the credit card or your bank statement.

 

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Smartphone Privacy Tips

Posted on January 25, 2015 by Jean Eaton in Blog

Smartphones can store and transmit a wide range of data that third parties can access – such as your contact list, your pictures, and your browsing history.

They are also vulnerable to viruses and malware that can compromise your personal information. Many apps that you have downloaded or pre-installed use geo-location, which allows you to be tracked wherever you go.

Using Wi-Fi hotspots are a great way to get around paying for data usage on your phone bill, Wi-Fi hotspots can also leave you vulnerable to intrusion.

Infographic by Point-Bl_nk Communications

Infographic by Point-Bl_nk Communications

5 Tips to improve your smartphone privacy

  •  Secure your phone with a unique password
  • Protect your phone with anti-virus, malware security software and update its operating system when prompted
  • Opt-out of the location service feature – many apps do not need geo-location enabled to work
  • Limit the type of business you conduct using Wi-Fi hotspots.
  • If you use Wi-Fi frequently, consider using a VPN connection.  See the infographic from Point-Bl_nk Communications

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