In the News
Knowing whether a website has been breached recently just got easier. In Mozilla adds website breach notifications to Firefox, Natasha Lomas at TechCrunch discusses a new security feature that will alert Firefox users via a pop-up notification if a website they are browsing experienced a data breach in the past year. Lomas elaborates that this new security feature will be connected to Mozilla’s Firefox Monitor tool, which alerts users is their email was affected in the event of a data breach.
Our Take
With the unfortunately high frequency of data and security breaches, any initiative by a major web browser to further protect and educate users is welcomed. Mozilla’s new tools provide the user more information about their browsing habits and information security. While we hope that you proceed with caution when utilizing a website that has been recently breached, having such information allows you, the user, to make your own decision about your data security, a choice that is often not afforded to consumers in our tech-driven society. Additionally, by learning about all of the recent breaches, more users may become more sensitive to the dangers of oversharing online or using websites that are notoriously not secure.
Recommendations
How can you protect your personal information from data breaches?
- Understand the risks of putting your personal information into the world, and only share what you have to
- Don’t reuse your account passwords, and take advantage of multi-factor authentication whenever possible
- Be wary of clicking on arbitrary links—utilize reputable and verifiable platforms for online browsing and purchases
- Track your finances closely to notice suspicious transactions before they become dangerous