It’s hard to go a few days of scanning the news without hearing about a major data breach, potentially exposing millions of customers’ personal data to criminals. Here are a few tips to ensure your personal information doesn’t end up in the wrong hands. Show
When creating a password, think beyond words or numbers that a cybercriminal could easily figure out, like your birthday. Choose combinations of lower and upper-case letters, numbers, and symbols and change them periodically. It’s also better to create a unique password instead of using the same password across multiple sites—a password manager tool can help you keep track. We all have that one friend who posts too many intimate details of their life online. Not only can this be annoying, but it can also put your personal information at risk. Check your privacy settings so you are aware of who’s seeing your posts, and be cautious when posting your location, hometown, birthday, or other
personal details. A little online shopping never hurt anyone…or did it? Most free public Wi-Fi networks have very few security measures in place, which means others using the same network could easily access your activity. You should wait until you’re at home or on a secure, password-protected network before whipping out that credit card. Cybercriminals are sneaky, and will often compose their phishing scams to look like legitimate communications from a bank, utility company, or other corporate entity. Certain things like spelling errors or a different email address than the typical sender can be a clue that the email is spam. Before entering personal information into a website, take a look at the top of your browser. If there is a lock symbol and the URL begins with “https,” that means the site is secure. There are a few other ways to determine if the site is trustworthy, such as a website privacy policy, contact information, or a “verified secure” seal. Install anti-virus software, anti-spyware software, and a firewall. For additional protection, you may want to consider cyber insurance, which can keep you and your family safe if you fall victim to a cyberattack. At Chubb, our experts are ready to evaluate your cyber vulnerabilities, help cover fraudulent charges, and ensure your family has the resources you need to recover emotionally, too. Posted: Jun 01 2010 | Revised: Mar 25 2019
1. What information are you sharing when you use social networks? The kinds of information that you may be sharing on a social network includes:
All of this sharing reveals information about you, including contextual information you may not even be aware of. By sharing this information online you may be providing enough information to allow advertisers to track you or hackers to take advantage of your online identity. Therefore it is important to be aware of the information that you are providing and to be conscious of the choices you can make to protect your privacy. 2. How may your social networking information be used and shared? Publicly available information. Every social network allows you to post some information that is completely publicly accessible. This can be anything from your username to individual posts, to your entire account. These kind of “public” posts are not blocked behind any kind of access restriction. Anyone, including strangers, can view whatever is posted as “public.” However, there may be other data that you share publicly without realizing it, and there are less obvious ways that your information may be treated as public without your permission, including:
Advertising. Your own publicly posted content isn’t the only way that you can be tracked, and advertisers are very interested in the information that can be gathered by tracking your online activity. This may include:
Behavioral advertising is the term used to describe the practice of tailoring advertisements to an individual’s personal interests. Social networks that provide their services without user fees make a profit by selling advertising. This is often done through behavioral advertising, also known as targeting. This practice is appealing to marketers because targeted advertisements are more likely to result in a purchase by a viewer than comparable non-targeted advertisements. They are valuable to social networks as they can be sold at a higher price than regular ads. Third-party applications are programs that interact with a social network without actually being part of that social network. These applications take many forms but some typical and popular forms include games that you may play with contacts, online polls or quizzes, or third party interfaces with the social network. To make these applications useful, social networks may allow developers automatic access to public information of users, and may even access some private information, when a user grants the application permission. You may inadvertently grant an application access to your profile without realizing the extent of the permissions being granted. Some facts to keep in mind when considering using third-party applications:
Government and law enforcement officials can monitor social networks for valuable information. Law enforcement agencies can and do monitor social networks for illegal activity. During an investigation, law enforcement will often turn to a suspect’s social network profiles to glean any information that they can. Though each social network has adopted its own procedures for dealing with requests from law enforcement agencies, it’s important to keep in mind that the degree to which these sites cooperate, or don’t cooperate, with law enforcement may not be fully explained in the privacy policy. Employment. Potential employers are generally permitted to use whatever information they can gather about an applicant in making a hiring decision. Although there are legal risks, including possible violation of anti-discrimination laws, employers are increasingly turning to social media to inform their decisions. It’s is important to know what information can be seen by non-contacts and to consider what kind of conclusions might be drawn from it. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) sets limits on what information employers can get from background checks and how they can use that information. However, the FCRA only applies to employers using third-party screening companies. Information that an employer gathers independently, including from informal Internet searches, is not covered by the FCRA. Employers frequently monitor what employees post on social networking sites. In fact, many companies have social media policies that limit what you can and cannot post on social networking sites about your employer, and hire third-party companies to monitor online employee activity for them. Some states have laws that prohibit employers from disciplining an employee based on off-duty activity on social networking sites, unless the activity can be shown to damage the company in some way. In general, posts that are work-related have the potential to cause the company damage. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has issued a number of rulings and recommendations involving questions about employer social media policies. The NLRB has indicated that these cases are extremely fact-specific. It has provided the following general guidance, however:
3. Privacy policies Most people skip over the privacy policy when joining a social network. However, users can learn a lot of useful information by reviewing a privacy policy before signing up for service. A social network’s privacy policy will explain how the social network will collect and use information about people who visit the site. When reviewing a privacy policy, remember:
The California Attorney General's guide explains how to read a privacy policy. 4. Tips There are many ways that information on social networks can be used for purposes other than what the user intended. Any time you choose to engage with social networking sites, you are taking certain risks. However, these practical tips may help you minimize the risks of social networks. When registering an account:
General privacy tips for using social networks
Which of the following is an effective way for you to protect your organization against hackers?In reality, there are just five specific steps that all companies need to follow to effectively protect against cyber attacks: secure your hardware, encrypt and backup all your data, encourage a security-centered culture, use robust firewall and anti-malware software, and invest in cyber security insurance.
Which of the following is the best way to confirm that your connection to a website is encrypted quizlet?Which of the following is the best way to confirm that your connection to a website is encrypted? There is a padlock icon in the status bar. What does HTTPS mean? Data transmitted between the browser and web server is encrypted.
What method would a cyber attacker use to infect a system with malware quizlet?What method would a cyber attacker use to infect a system with malware? Tricking a person into opening an infected file attached to a message.
Which of the following is the best example of personally identifiable information?Personal identification numbers: social security number (SSN), passport number, driver's license number, taxpayer identification number, patient identification number, financial account number, or credit card number. Personal address information: street address, or email address. Personal telephone numbers.
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