THE SAFE

What does online privacy mean? According to Technopedia.com Online privacy is the privacy and security level of personal data published via the Internet. It is a broad term that refers to a variety of factors, techniques and technologies used to protect sensitive and private data, communications, and preferences. Online privacy and anonymity are paramount to Read More…

National Cybersecurity Awareness Month is here. Do you have all the resources to be safer and more secure online? Through collaborative efforts between government and industry to raise awareness about the importance of cybersecurity, the Department and Homeland Security has created a library of information to help you stay safe online, and offline. This year Read More…

Information Security 2019-2020 The new school year is an exciting time for students, faculty, and staff. It is also prime time for cyber criminals to attempt to take advantage of people during this busy time of the year. In recent years, universities—like everyone else—have become increasingly aware of online threats. Campuses have seen their payroll Read More…

By Madeline Purdue, contributor for USA Today. It seems that every time the phone rings, it’s a reminder robocalls are on the rise. To put a number on it, 2018 saw 26.3 billion robocalls made to cell phones in the U.S. with the volume of these calls continuing to rise, according to robocall blocking app Hiya. Beyond “how do I get Read More…

By Jessica Barker By understanding cognitive biases and shortcuts, we can better engage people to improve cybersecurity awareness, behavior, and culture. In 1999, Bruce Schneier popularized the concept that cybersecurity is about people, process, and technology.1 Yet two decades later, we still focus much more on technology than on the other two dimensions. For a long Read More…

Here, I share an article by Paul Ducklin (Sophos) describing what a Remote Access Trojan (RAT) does, and how criminals use it to extort money out of people. Sextortion is back! In fact, it never went away. Some of us get dozens of sextortion scam emails every month to our work and personal accounts, demanding Read More…

Overview Throughout the year, scam artists pose as legitimate entities—such as the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), other government agencies, and financial institutions—in an attempt to defraud taxpayers. They employ sophisticated phishing campaigns to lure users to malicious sites or entice them to activate malware in infected email attachments. To protect sensitive data, credentials, and payment Read More…

The IRS, the states and the tax industry are committed to protecting you from identity theft. We’ve strengthened our partnership to fight a common enemy – the criminals – and to devote ourselves to a common goal – serving you. Working together, we’ve made many changes to combat identity theft, and we are making progress. Read More…

Online purchase scams skyrocketed to the top of Better Business Bureau of Chicago’s top 10 scams of 2018. According to BBB, experts say 1.4 million fake websites are created every month with criminals replacing some of these websites every few hours in order to avoid detection. The BBB says the most common online purchase scams Read More…

Many of us will hop online over the next few months to purchase gifts, plane tickets, admission to shows and games, and food in preparation for the holidays. However, with online convenience comes all kinds of security risks. Arm yourself by learning about safe online shopping so that you don’t spend any of your vacation Read More…