Equifax's Cyber Breach Chickens are Coming Home To Roost - Here's my Story!

By Hector Cisneros

Courtesy of Flickr

The holidays are over and I decided to sell a few things on Craigslist to recoup a little money.  So I took a few good photos of my for sale items and posted them. Within 5 minutes of my post, I received 6 inquiries asking if I still had the items. I replied yes and the big surprise happened! All six of the inquiries asked me to prove that I was not a robot! This is how I discovered one of the latest scams happening on the internet. So what's this got to do with internet marketing you may ask? Well, Cybercrime is like kryptonite to the internet, it kills trust and commerce and destroys financial lives!  In this episode of Working the Web to Win, I will explain the intricacies of this new scam, tie it to the Equifax and other major breaches, show you what to watch out for and how to avoid falling victim to this new internet scam. So take out your notebook and be ready to be intrigued and scared as I explain how the Equifax Cyber Breach Chickens are Coming Home to Roost. 

Thwarting Cyber Thieves (Reprinted from https://insuranceorangepark.blogspot.com)

Image Courtesy flickr

As a marketing company, we have been warning about the dangers of cybercriminals since 2012. We believe that cybercrime is not only a threat to the trustworthiness of Internet ecommerce structure, but it is also a direct threat to the very freedoms we hold so dear as Americans. We have written extensively about this subject. In fact, any search on cybercrime or Cybersecurity will bring forth a list of dozens of articles. Today's episode of Working the Web to Win comes to us from one of our favorite clients, Catherine Powell, the owner of A Plus All Florida Insurance of Orange Park. Her article delves right into the heart of cybercrime and how it can drastically, negatively affect your life.  So without further a due, read and share - Thwarting Cyber Thieves.

The Latest on Cybercrime - Ransomware, Hack Attacks and Massive Data Breaches

By Hector Cisneros

Courtesy of Pixabay

It seems like yesterday that I wrote, "The Latest Hack Attack - Equifax Breach Exposes 143 Million Americans".  However, soon after that article I wrote, "Massive Data Leak Exposes 340 Million Americans Personal Data - Now What!". In fact, when I searched our blog on the term "data breaches", 11 articles showed in the list.  If I added internet security and hacking, I'd get another two dozen more articles listed. We are a marketing company, so you are probably wondering why I'm writing about cybercrime and hacking. Well, the fact is this; cybercrime has a direct affect on the amount of trust consumers place in the internet. Without a high level of trust, people won't buy or use the internet for research and shopping. Without that trust, we as a marketing company would be out of business. In this episode of Working the Web to Win, we will explore the latest, data breaches, hack attacks and ransomware events taking place in the USA. We will also provide a list of resources to help you protect yourself from becoming a victim of cybercrime. So be ready to have your confidence shaken and then restored as we explore the latest  Cybercrrimes, including Ransomware exploits, Hack Attacks and Massive data Breaches that have taken place recently.

Re-published in its entirety - "Is There a Digital Data Disaster in Your Future?"

Image courtesy of Pixabay

It is rare that we allow other authors to ghost blog on our  site, but sometimes we have clients that produce great articles worth sharing. Yes we can share them on our social nets, but that only a short lived exposure for them. So we have decided to republish a few article that we have found to be worth showcasing to help our clients out. The article we select are relevant to our following and the articles are of high quality, are timely, relevant and also provide sufficient infotainment that we feel our readers will get the full benefit from our republishing our clients work on our blog. So with Catherine Powell's permission and our delite, we present in its entirety;

Cybercriminals Do It in the Dark - Your Information for Sale on the Dark Web?

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

By Hector Cisneros

The Dark Web! It’s a term you hear people bantering about quite a bit today. Are hackers buying and selling your info on the Dark Web! Are cybercriminals using the Dark Web as a means of attacking our government, our businesses, and our personal digital devices with impunity? What are the costs and the dangers we currently face?  There is no doubt in my mind this problem has mushroomed because of the cybersecurity incompetence of companies like Equifax, Yahoo, and others that have allowed cybercriminals to gain access to our personal data. The headlines about the Russians hacking our political system has finally brought to the forefront the danger that cybercrime brings. Today, our government needs to declare war on cybercrime if we want to keep this peril at bay. In this episode of Working the Web to Win, we will explore the current threat cybercrime is exposing us to, we will look at the ongoing cost, and we will look at what could and should be done to ameliorate this threat. So, press on to learn how to mitigate your risks and hide your digital footprints as we tackle the perils of the Dark Web and the sale of your personal data.

How Do I Hack Thee? Let Me Count the Ways – A Cyberstalking Primer

By Carl Weiss

Photo Credit: inspireleads.com

Valentine ’s Day, a day for sweethearts, lovers, married couples and anyone with love in their hearts. But what happens when love is lost? What happens in our modern society when ex-lovers, sweethearts and couples hit the skids and go their separate ways? What happens when one or both of the ex-enamored ones decided they didn’t get treated right, or worse, they decided to dish out some malevolent treatment of their own?

With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, I thought I’d take the time to give all of our readers a little lesson on what can happen when a former long, lost love refuses to get lost.  I’m talking about the all-too-common practice of cyberstalking.  Along with hacking, this technocrime is on the rise worldwide.  If you want to avoid being your significant other’s online punching bag, you need to take precautions before the rose becomes a thornier issue, if you hope to have a moment’s peace should your relationship go kaput.

Cyberstalking for Fun & Profit

Is There a Cyberstalker in Your Future?

Courtesy of Flickr

By Carl Weiss

Does the title of this week's article creep you out?  Good, because more and more intimate personal information is available online about each and every one of us than is "healthy."  Worse still, it's  all too easy to become a victim of cyberstalking.  That's because most of us disseminate far too much personal information on social nets, in chat rooms, and via photo and video sharing services.  It's also far too easy to get the vast majority of us to volunteer even more intimate details regarding our religious and political affiliations, income, sexual orientation, and health-related issues. Worst of all, there are companies and cybercriminals that profit from this glut of easily obtained information. The result? We're all putting our personal and financial futures at risk.  In this article we'll show you how easy it is to glean reams of information about nearly anyone — and most importantly — what you need to do to keep yourself from getting caught with your pants down.  And if that doesn't give you the e-heebie jebbies, I don't know what will.

Chinese Hack Attack!

English: Air Force Flag of the People's Republic of China (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

By Carl Weiss

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the Internet, a news story breaks about how foreign governments are now hacking us companies, even going after their employee's computers.  This time it wasn’t inspired by teenage pranksters on the prowl.  Nor was it the Russian mob trying to break into financial institutions once again.  No, this time the culprits were state-sponsored hackers who wore military uniforms and lived in military barracks.  What I’m talking about is the latest hack attack by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, which came to light to the nation at large on Monday, March 11, when Tom Donilon, President Obama’s national security adviser stated in a speech in New York City: 

“Increasingly, U.S. businesses are speaking out about their serious concerns about sophisticated, targeted theft of confidential business information and proprietary technologies through cyberintrusions emanating from China on an unprecedented scale. The international community cannot tolerate such activity from any country.” (Click here to read the slate.com blog.)

How Freeware Can Cost You BIG

by Carl Weiss

Courtesy of www.quickenloans.com

Especially in today’s economy, most people are searching for deals.  Whether it is a buy-one-get-one at the grocery store, or an online coupon that offers fifty percent or more off your next restaurant visit, most people are only too happy to snap up a bargain for something they would normally purchase.  When it comes to acquiring software for the home computer, this rule is even more prevalent.  Why pay for the cow, when they’re giving the milk away for free, right?  In the case of recognized vendors, such as Filezilla or Linux, not to mention CNet and Tucows, these sites either own the software they distribute freely, or else the vet any vendors promoted on their sites.  Unfortunately, when it comes to freeware, there are a number of purveyors who are not offering their software out of the goodness of their hearts.