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.

Will the New General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Give us More Privacy and Security?

By Hector Cisneros

Courtesy of Pixabay

On May 25^th headlines everywhere were touting the announcement of the new EU GDPR law that was going into effect. Even if you didn’t see the headlines on the news, you would have been inundated by the many emails from a wide assortment of internet and SAS providers. They were all telling you about their updated data protection and privacy policies and were asking you to read it and agree to them. How many of you actually read any of these new policy updates? What do these new policies mean? Are they the answer to Facebooks data selling misconduct or the fact that Equifax dragged its feet for months before informing the public of its massive data breach? Is it the action of our government finally coming to our rescue? In this episode of Working the Web to Win, we will find answers to these questions and many more as we delve into the meaning of the new GDPR law here in the United States. So, get ready to dig deep as the implications of the General Data Protection Regulation spreads across the fruited plain.

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.

Massive Data Leak Exposes 340 Million Americans Personal Data - Now What!

Courtesy of Flickr

By Hector Cisneros

How valuable is your Personal Data? It’s extremely valuable, at least according to the data aggregation company Exactis. They collect and sell consumer and business data to marketers and resellers all over the world. They have collected information on 218 million individuals, 110 million U.S. households, 88 million verified email addresses and 112 million records with residential phone numbers. The fact that you have probably never heard of Exactis, or that they have collected so much personal data isn’t surprising. What’s very scary is the fact that this data was easily accessible to anybody with only a little internet search knowhow. In other words, any hacker could (and may have) downloaded this massive database, making it easy to profile, imitate, or go after almost every citizen, family, and business in the United States. In this episode of Working the Web to Win, we’ll discuss this massive data leak along with several other huge data breaches that have just taken place in the last few months. So, hold onto your internet passwords and lock down your social accounts as we explore the ever-growing massive data breaches that are making U.S. citizens vulnerable to hack attacks.

It's Midnight - Do You Know Where Your Data is?

Courtesy of  Pixabay

Data Protection in the 21^st Century

By Hector Cisneros

Ok, so it’s midnight, and hopefully, you're asleep, and all your data is safe and sound all over the internet, right? What, my data is all over the internet? How can I protect my data if it’s not in my control? Can I really back up data that’s out on the web? Is my security strong enough to stop hackers? Does my service provider have top notch security? Can I restore any lost or stolen data? If you’re asking these kinds of questions, you're wondering if living in the cloud is safe after all. So, why have a backup at all if the cloud isn’t safe? I have three words for you -  Data Breach, Ransomware, and ID Thief! Ok, so that's five words! But the fact remains, most internet users have more vulnerabilities today than ever before! So, if you want to find out how to better protect yourself and any company data that’s in the cloud, tune in and turn on to this week’s episode of Working the Web to Win where we will explore “How to Protect Your Data in the 21^st Century.”

How Secure is Your Personal & Financial Data?

 By Hector Cisneros

Image courtesy Pixabay

If you read the recent headlines about the data leak involving more than a half-billion Facebook users, you’re probably shaking your head wondering what happened to personal privacy.  If you’ve been keeping up with the news, last year there were massive data breaches where hackers penetrated Fortune 500 companies like Microsoft, General Electric, MGM Resorts, Marriott, Walgreens, Carnival Cruise Lines, AmTrak, and T-Mobile just to name a few.  Recently,  Facebook exposed the name, location, birthdate, email address, phone number, ID, account creation date, relationship status, and Bio due to a known vulnerability that it allegedly fixed in 2019, according to a blog on the Verge.  

The Cybercrime Clock is Ticking

By Ryan Gilway and Glenn Gray

Image by commons.wikipedia.org

Cybercrime has jumped off the big screen of Hollywood and onto the small screen of business computer users from coast to coast.  Unlike the Hollywood blockbusters, in most cases the hero doesn’t arrive in the nick of time to save the day.  Given the international nature of cybercrime, even the FBI is all but helpless to put a stop to this growing scourge, no matter how big the headlines produced by data breaches get.

The Latest Hack Attack - Equifax Breach Exposes 143 Million Americans

Top things you Need to Know and Do

Courtesy of Flickr

By Hector Cisneros

For years we have been writing about the threat of hackers and their attacks on our institutions. Today the threat level has now evolved into an ongoing curse because the latest hack on Equifax will have long-lasting negative effects on millions of Americans for many years to come. In the past, we have written how our government has been asleep at the wheel when it comes to the threat of hack attacks. Now our personal and financial information is being exposed by hacks on companies like Equifax, who have been gathering our personal information for decades without our permission. This hack attack has compromised 143 million amercians and made us vulnerable to all kinds of fraud and financial devastation. In this episode of Working the Web to Win we will discuss the hard reality of this breach. We will discuss the outlook and its consequences and we will provide direction and solutions to help mitigate this horrendous long-term threat. So get ready to understand the the situation that 143 million of us are now in. So Take notes on what you have to do, because this problem is going to get a lot worse before it gets better.  

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. 

The Latest on Cybercriminal Phishing Attacks with Fake Insurance Ads, Surveys & More

Courtesy of Pixabay

By Hector Cisneros

I have been writing about cybercrime for over seven years now, but this year I have seen a marked increase in targeted email phishing attacks based on my Baby-Boomer profile. Obviously, the boomers are coming of age, but I also attribute this increase to the recent massive cyber breaches at Yahoo, Equifax, Facebook, and other mega database holders. The massive Baby-Boomer population along with the above-mentioned massive breaches are all leading to a perfect cyber phishing storm because now cyber-criminals have everything they need to profile this population. In this episode of Working the Web to Win, we will explore the uptick in email phishing, its causes, its targets and what preventive measures you can take to prevent this perfect storm from sinking your cyber life. So, batten down your cyber hatches and get ready to be schooled on the latest cyber-criminal phishing attack along with the best ways to protect your cyber world.

It's a Black Hat Christmas - Are Hackers in Your Stocking?

Courtesy of WorkingtheWebtoWin.com

By Hector Cisneros

The holidays are here! It’s almost Christmas. Your shopping for your loved ones, scoping out all the deals when you get an email from your favorite store for an incredible deal. All you have to do is log in and claim your special to win Christmas. What could be easier? Or is it? Every year at this time cybercriminals ramp up and sharpen their social engineering hacker techniques to capture your usernames and passwords. They want to gain access to your digital devices and secure the claim to your financial data. This year, it's time to shop on a smarter level. In this episode of Working the Web to Win, we will show you more than a dozen ways to protect your data and shopping experience to make this holiday special in a positive way. Don’t let the black hat hackers get in your Christmas stocking.

In Christmases of the past, we have written about how cyber thieves and hacking increases during the holidays. This is because so many shoppers are too busy hunting for a deal and not paying attention to their cyber security. First, we wrote about “The Byte Before Christmas” where we talked about the growing trend of cyber hacking during the holidays along with the bad behavior that goes with Black Friday shopping. Then we wrote an article called “The Grinch Goes Digital,” which covers 12 ways online scammers can steal from you this Christmas. Since then, we have written many other articles about the ever-escalating threat of hackers black hat trickery and how worldwide hacking is becoming a threat to our very way of life.

Attack of the Botnets

By Robert Kaye and Hector Cisneros

Photo Credit: arlnow.com

Ever wonder how Google knows what’s on your website? Have you ever been infected by malware or a computer virus? Ever pondered how these spammers got your email address? I have one word for you: BOTs! The World Wide Web is crawling with them.  Spider bots to index your website, evil bots that can make you wish you never had a computer, bots that scrape the web for ID information, and bots that you can buy ― but unfortunately break search engine rules ― which then render your domain as an outcast in a sandbox kingdom that no one can find.

The Crypto Crunch - Ransomware Run Amok

Courtesy of  commons.wikimedia.org

By Carl Weiss 

The Crypto Virus is unlike anything you have encountered in the past.  Sure, other forms of malware can disrupt your web browsing, slow your machine to a crawl or pop up an endless stream of annoying ads.  But this nasty bug has the ability to ratchet up your angst a number of ways.  That’s because not only can Crypto encrypt your hard drive and hold your machine for ransom, but it can also infect any other peripheral connected to it, including the cloud.  This is the same virus that so infected the servers of a local police department in Georgia that when the cops asked the FBI what to do, the feds told them to pay the ransom.  Before your wired world gets turned upside down and your computers are held hostage, you had better read on so you can beef up your immunity to the nastiest bug in Cyberspace.