Theme: Understanding Cyber Security Threats
The Jacksonville Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation will present a half day conference to raise awareness of current National Security threats that are often encountered by higher education institutions. The conference will take place on Friday, Oct. 24 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. in the Adam W. Herbert University Center. The agenda may be viewed here.
The deadline to register was Oct. 20. You will need to show your UNF ID at the door upon check-in on Oct. 24. |
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Tip of the Week:
Protect Yourself Against the Personal/Financial Impact of Data Breaches
A data breach is an incident in which sensitive, protected or confidential data has potentially been viewed, stolen or used by an individual unauthorized to do so. In 2014, one source reports there have been 606 data breaches exposing 77,577,208 records. There are actions consumers can take to protect themselves from future heists of their information.
Below are ways to help protect yourself from the personal/financial impact of a data breach.
1. Beware of email scammers. After a data breach companies will often offer victims free credit monitoring services. But be wary, offers for credit monitoring or repair services from sources unrelated to the breach should be considered extremely suspect.
2. Keep the digits in your wallet. Don’t allow websites to store your credit card data on their servers. Websites with many customers’ payment card info are much more likely to be hacked than you are.
3. Sign it, don’t pin it. Credit cards almost always offer more consumer fraud protections than debit cards. Ask the cashier to process your transaction as a credit card or select “credit card” on the display.
4. Keep up with statements. Check your account statements regularly for any unfamiliar or unauthorized transactions and notify the bank immediately if you find one. In general, waiting to report fraudulent activity can lead to increased liability for the consumer.
5. Sweat the small stuff. Thieves will often charge smaller amounts to test if the card data is valid and then charge larger amounts later.
6. Check your credit report. Check your credit report for any errors. Errors are common and can be benign, but can also indicate a larger problem such as identity theft. Credit reports are available for free, from each of the three national credit reporting agencies — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion — every 12 months from AnnualCreditReport.com.
7. Place a fraud alert on your credit reports. If you’re concerned that your identity may be stolen, you can request a free fraud alert be placed on your credit records. This will alert credit grantors to more carefully validate new credit applications in your name. To request fraud alerts, you can contact any of the three credit reporting agencies — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. While a fraud alert will not stop the opening of new credit accounts, it will make the process a bit more secure. Also, fraud alerts do expire, so you will need to follow up to ensure continuous coverage.
8. Proper Disposal. Shred paper documents that contain your personal information. Erase mobile devices before disposing or giving them to someone else. Remove the hard drive from your computer and drill several holes through it or use a reputable disk-erasure utility before disposal. There are numerous free tools to erase disks available on the internet
9. Go old school --Use cash. The safest way to avoid having your credit card data stolen is not to use a card at all. Even if security gets stronger at stores, hackers will figure out a way around it. You do remember carrying cash, right?
Information about responding to or dealing with a data breach: http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/data-breaches-credit-freezes-and-identity-theft-oh-my
List of Data Breaches in chronological order: https://www.privacyrights.org/data-breach
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