In the News
New technology continues to require frequent patches for security flaws. In Microsoft and Adobe Patch 100+ Bugs in December, Phil Muncaster at InfoSecurity Magazine discusses vulnerabilities and bugs found in Microsoft and Adobe programs which were remediated in their most recent patches. Muncaster explains that many of the flaws identified allowed an attacker to gain control of a user’s device with little difficulty and even opened the potential for attackers to download additional content onto a user’s device.
Our Take
With the amount of technology that we use on a daily basis, bugs and vulnerabilities in programs are bound to occur. However, the frequency of such vulnerabilities is cause for alarm given the continued increase of cybersecurity threats and cybercrime. Running a flawed program puts you at risk of exposing your devices to attackers and potentially compromising the personal information you have stored on such devices or within online accounts. Companies must take more swift action in not only patching vulnerabilities as soon as they are identified but also in disclosing the vulnerabilities that occurred and how users may have been impacted. The reality of flawed technology also stresses the importance of securing individual accounts with multi-factor authentication and strong passwords to reduce the damage that a technological vulnerability may have on your personal information.
Recommendations
How can you protect your personal information from security vulnerabilities in technology?
- Understand the risks of putting your personal information into the world, and only share what you have to
- Minimize the number of accounts that have direct access to your bank account or card numbers
- Make sure to frequently update apps and software to avoid running flawed programs
- Don’t reuse your account passwords, and take advantage of multi-factor authentication where possible.
- Stay up to date on the news regarding recent fraud and phishing attacks to see if you may have been affected