Topic: Data Breaches
Don Trauger – Kennett
I’m sure you have heard or even read about data breaches. When a computer hacker is successful
in entering a computer and stealing the data, it is determined that it is a data breach. But that’s
not the end of the story. He then will try to expose it on the internet for all the world to see.
Almost all of the time the data is for sale to other hackers that are willing to buy the data.
There’s another side to data breaches. Fake data breaches. It’s bad enough that a real data breach
affects you but a fake is even more worrisome. It’s like piling trouble on top of trouble.
First, you need to determine if the data breach message you received is real. Do not click any
links or proceed to follow any instructions within the data breach without doing some basic
things first.
1. Write down the name of the company involved. Open your browser and type the name of
the company into the address field. Add the term “data breach or “hacked” (no quotes) to
help the search. Carefully scroll down the complete page while looking for information
about the data breach. If there is no information on the legitimate site about a data breach,
you can assume that the data breach message you received is a fake. Move it to your
Spam folder which may help to block future fakes from the same sender.
2. Make sure you have a good anti-virus program installed. It can help block fake data
breaches. I can recommend Bitdefender Total Security. Whenever you install a new
antivirus program remember to uninstall the old one first. This is mandatory because of
the way anti-virus programs work.
3. As you can see, this takes very little effort to protect you from fake data breaches. A little
common sense goes a long way too.
