Have you ever stopped to think about how much of your life is digital? Virtually every aspect of our family life is conducted using an app. From banking to driving, flying to fitness and everything in between – there is an app for that.
Things have changed dramatically throughout the years. It was not that long ago that not everyone had bank accounts, they got paid in cash and paid their bills in cash. Today a retail business may not accept cash.
Each of us need to be aware of our data that is online and how it is being stored, shared, and secured.
The first of five Principles in my presentation “The Commonsense Approach to Protect You and Your Data” is “Eyes Wide Open” where I state that you “got to know what you got, where you got it in order to protect it.”
Data is valuable to a cybercriminal. The cybercrime lifecycle starts with a cybercriminal stealing data, then selling that data to criminal data brokers, who re-sell to a Cybercrime As A Service business, who then launches attacks such as Ransomware against legitimate companies and individuals in order to make more money for the cybercrime business. While sometime the attacks are targeted to large companies or individuals with large net worth – this is not always the case. A database of stolen emails probably contains outlook.com, Gmail.com, and yahoo.com accounts. The cybercriminal is focused on getting the victim to pay up, or an easy login target.
In this first activity to define your digital footprint, we will focus on getting you more familiar with your data. “Commonsense Principle 1 Task 1 Data Worksheet” is a document designed to guide you through identifying your personal data items. Data items as simple as your name, email address, and phone number and more though provoking, such as your memberships to religious, political, or social organizations. Reach out to me for your copy of this very first Worksheet in your personal journey to Protecting You and Your Data.
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