Cybersecurity - What Steps Can You Take?
We now rely on the internet for almost everything. Whether it’s keeping in touch with family on Facebook or buying a book on Amazon, our personal lives are on the web in some way, shape, or form. With that in mind, it’s as important as ever to remain vigilant in keeping our information safe. In light of the recent Equifax data breach, we felt it prudent to share some tips and recommendations for keeping your personal information in-check. In no particular order:
1) Two-factor authentication is a security feature offered by many services including Gmail and Apple for verifying your identity when logging in. In essence, a successful login requires a password and a verification code which is sent to your phone as a text message. This redundancy requirement makes it very difficult for hackers to log into these accounts. We understand that enabling two-factor can be a bit of a hassle, but hackers will always start with the easiest targets first. This website: https://www.turnon2fa.com/tutorials/ provides a walkthrough for enabling two-factor on many popular websites.
2) Use unique passwords as much as possible, especially on sites that store your credit card or other personal information. Consider changing passwords on a regular basis as well.
3) You can read more about the Equifax data breach here: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/07/business/equifax-cyberattack.html, and here: https://www.pcworld.com/article/3223142/security/equifax-hack-how-to-know-affected-data-breach.html. We will be keeping an eye on this story as it develops and will report any meaningful developments to you as we learn of them.
4) You can visit https://haveibeenpwned.com/ to determine if your username or email address has been stolen in any previous data breaches (like LinkedIn and Target). Although this website looks funny, it is legitimate and has been endorsed by Cantella and by an article written in Forbes. If you discover your data may have been stolen, you should change your password for the associated website or service.
5) We would highly recommend claiming a free credit report every single year from at least one of the major bureaus to make sure fraudulent accounts have not been opened in your name: https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action. The FTC states that this website is the ONLY legitimate service for claiming your free credit report.
We believe your information as it relates to us is safe. Raymond James and Cantella both require all advisors to use two-factor authentication for every single login attempt, and both firms use robust security systems to keep the bad guys at bay. Our office stores client information on a closed-network system that cannot be accessed outside of our walls. Should a breach ever occur, we will inform you as soon as possible.
As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns.
Peter, Ben, and Keri