Life Happens 365 - Are You Managing the Risk?

 By Diane Tait Image courtesy Pixabay Being in the Information Age means always being in danger of having your web-enabled devices hacked, cracked, and cyber-attacked.  That's why I keep no less than three levels of cybersecurity on my laptop, tablet, and smartphone.  While that puts me head and shoulders above most mere mortals these days, I recently read a newsfeed that got me thinking that maybe there's another way for hackers to get me right where they want me.  You see, while my sense of cybersecurity is top-notch, it turns out that some of the doctors I see on a regular basis may not be cyber secure.  At least that's what a recent report from Brookings.org led me to believe.

By Diane Tait Image courtesy Pixabay  You may have noticed that gas prices have recently shot up.   What you may not be aware is that part of the cause was related to a hack attack on one of the nation’s key fuel pipelines.   Two weeks ago, Colonial Pipeline Company was forced to shut down 5,500 miles of gas pipeline for several days when a control system was compromised by a cyberattack.   The company was ultimately forced to pay a $5 million ransom to regain control of their pipeline.   What’s even worse is that this kind of corporate disruption is hardly unique.   Attacks against the global financial sector have more than doubled in the past year alone.   If you’re looking to avoid having your world turned upside down by hackers, here are the top-10 things you can do to hack-proof your home.

  By Diane Tait Image courtesy Pixabay If your business uses Microsoft Exchange, you may have a problem. That’s because in February 2021, a Chinese hacking group called Hafnium exploited flaws in Exchange to gain access to email accounts.   This allowed the state-sponsored hackers to install malware that could ultimately let them take control of affected systems.   The estimated number of compromised accounts is more than 100,000. So flagrant was this attack that the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Agency, issued a warning along with appropriate steps to take to mitigate the attack.   The Hafnium exploit can allow hackers to steal data, encrypt existing data, delete data or even hold data for ransom.  

By Diane Tait What’s in a name?   More than most people think.   Especially once their identity has been stolen.   Identity theft is one of the scourges of modern society.   Even worse, it’s one that’s getting more pervasive each and every year.   Last year alone, the credit reporting agencies tallied up nearly $17 billion in losses due to identity theft.   That’s nothing to say of the loss of credit worthiness to those whose identities were compromised, not to mention the laborious and costly process of reclaiming their identity.   To help keep you from becoming a victim, I thought I’d provide you with ten ways to protect your identity from those who hope to profit by besmirching your good name.

By Diane Tait Image courtesy flickr One of the biggest items on most American’s shopping list this year was technology.   Whether Santa’s list included a new laptop, tablet or cellphone, the arrival of the latest model leaves most people wondering what to do with the old one.   While selling, donating or regifting secondhand tech sounds like a good idea in principle, I’m here to tell you that if you aren’t careful, you could wind up giving away more than you had hoped.   That’s because computers and smartphones contain sensitive and valuable information on them that can be used to cause you grief.   Before you wind up getting Grinched by savvy cyber-criminals, there are a few things you need to do before you pass on any technology.

By Diane Tait Image courtesy flickr I’m old enough that I still remember the days before cellphones, as well as the first generation of mobile phones that either resembled a brick with an antenna or lived in a bag that we plugged into the cigarette lighter in our cars.   Back then it cost a small fortune to make calls on mobile phones.   That was the bad news.   The good news was when your mobile phone rang, you could rest assured it was a call from a client or friend who had your cellphone number.   Today, the odds are about 50/50 that the call routed to your smartphone is spam.   That’s right, nearly half the calls received in the US are from telemarketers.   That’s ten times the amount of spam generated just two years ago.   What’s even worse is that many of us took the time and trouble to register our cell numbers on the Do Not Call registry maintained by the government.   While the registry was supposed to reduce the amount of spam ...