UMD Data Breach: A Prompt for Better Privacy and Security

If last week's data breach of 310,000 University of Maryland records, as well as the recent data breaches at Target and Neiman Marcus, isn't enough to prompt you to better protect your privacy and security, what is?

This past October, we published "Strengthen Your Cyber Security by Following These Latest Password Tips". In December, we published "Why Stolen Facebook, Google, Twitter and Yahoo Passwords Should Concern the Enterprise IT Manager". We encourage you to read these blog posts and reconsider your own password practices. 

Today, we are pleased to share with you five more tips to help keep your information private:

1. Question suspicious requests. When an unknown identity is looking to confirm an email address or password, this could be the primary action of a hacker. Hackers begin to obtain information about their victims from their personal email accounts. If you are confronted with a request for your personal information, question the source before providing it, and possibly, do not provide it at all.

2. Keep contact information off social media. Names, email addresses and phone numbers that may have been posted harmlessly to your social media accounts, such as LinkedIn or Facebook, or a corporate website, can easily be obtained by hackers. They are able to use this information to infiltrate your accounts and potentially gain more information.

3. Be aware of your surroundings. One of the simplest methods hackers use to obtain information is to look over their victim’s shoulder. This is easily avoidable by being aware of your surroundings and being extra cautious. Other ways to guard yourself is to purchase privacy protectors for your devices. These will make it much more difficult for others to see what you are doing on your computer. Your screen will appear black and dark to them.

4. Educate yourself. Make every attempt to learn about different forms of protection from the actions of hackers and viruses. Being educated on the topic of cyber security may shield you from your information being compromised. Pass your education on to others to continue spreading awareness about how to keep personal information private.

5. Install antivirus and anti-malware software. One common method against viruses and other cyber threats is to install antivirus software. Thousands of programs are available and many are low cost. Try to select software with a reputable name. If you are not sure which software to choose, there are many options available from various companies. Free versions don’t always have the most current protection available, so you may be better off buying full packages with suscription updates.