infographic

Infographic: How to Stay Anonymous Online

By Experian PS| 2014-12-01T11:01:45-06:00 October 10th, 2014|Uncategorized|

Today’s digital generation has made it nearly impossible to keep your identity hidden online. Social networking and sharing has created a culture of transparency, which can be beneficial when used for good, but extremely dangerous in the hands of cyber criminals. In the spirit of celebrating National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM), we wanted to share an infographic from WhoIsHostingThis that includes a few ways you can keep your identity private online.

Use proxy servers. This is an easy way to hide your IP address and circumvent firewalls. Beware of using bait proxies set up by cyber criminals to mine your data.
Set up a Virtual Private Network (VPN). VPNs encrypt your data through a “point-to-point” tunnel. This allows you to hide the route of your data from other Internet users. Make sure to use an up-to-date VPN service and be prepared to possibly deal with slower download speeds.
TOR is an option for identity privacy, but not security. TOR encrypts your data and sends it through a random route of computer around the world. The downside to using TOR is that while your identity remains protected, your data is not safe. We recommend using the first two options before choosing TOR.

What are some other ways you can protect your identity online? Share your ideas with us on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn, and be sure to participate in the NCSAM conversations happening this month all over the world. Learn more about NCSAM and how you can get involved.

Mobile Security Infestation: Protecting Yourself and Your Mobile Device

By Experian PS| 2014-07-28T16:12:19-05:00 July 28th, 2014|Uncategorized|

This guest blog post comes to you from Ivan Serrano, a technology, business and social media writer and infographic specialist from San Jose, California. In his free time, Ivan loves marveling at the wonders of modern technology and gets wound up in his photography in San Francisco.

We’re all aware of the dangers of hackers when delving into the depths of the Internet on our computers, but as the ever-expanding mobile community also dives deeper into the Internet, we have to worry about the health of our mobile devices as well. The problem with this mobile infestation is that, along with mobile Internet connectivity, it is relatively new. Most people are still under the illusion that nothing bad can happen to a phone other than physically damaging it, and it’s not their fault; no one really knows what to look for.

Third party app stores can contain malicious apps, unsecured WiFi hotspots can lead to identity theft, and in BYOD businesses, the devices are often insecure. With more businesses and individuals relying on mobile phones to store data and do business, this poses quite a large security problem. Thankfully, these security breaches haven’t gone unnoticed. There are numerous ways to keep your mobile device secure, and more are being developed all the time.

What’s out there and how can we deal with it? Let us know what you think on Twitter and Facebook, and be sure to check out our Tumblr for the latest industry news stories.

Evolution of Identity Management

By Experian PS| 2014-02-11T15:00:33-06:00 February 6th, 2014|Uncategorized|

Protecting your identity isn’t as cut and dry as it was before the digital age. Before the internet, identity thieves would find personal data by hunting through the garbage for sensitive documents, phishing for private information via phone rather than email or purchasing personal data from unscrupulous store employees.

Now, with advances in technology, identity thieves have many more tricks and tactics to collect sensitive information, especially in the online world. The types of information that are valuable to identity thieves have also changed. Social Security numbers and credit cards still fetch a high price on the identity black market but email address and login information are also prized as they provide access to valuable online accounts such as Amazon or banking sites. Add this to the fact that social networking profiles have made it easier than ever for cyber criminals to collect personal information and it is easy to see that the need for identity management has become more important than ever.

Take a look at our identity management infographic to see what information cyber criminals are going after now and what security risks consumers and businesses should anticipate in the future. While identity management in this increasingly digital world can be daunting, there are many unique solutions both new and in the works that can help companies and consumers protect their sensitive information online and off.

You are welcome to share this infographic on your website and can access the embed code on Visua.ly. In the meantime, please let us know how you plan on managing your identity by leaving a comment on our Facebook or tweeting at us on Twitter. Be sure to stay up-to-date on the latest security news on our Tumblr.

October Recap: National Cyber Security Month and More

By Experian PS| 2013-11-04T16:37:52-06:00 November 4th, 2013|Uncategorized|

Despite the ever-warm temperatures at our Austin headquarters, Fall has officially arrived. We welcomed the last few months of the year with a new partnership with the state of South Carolina and have been hard at work spreading the word about National Cyber Security Awareness Month, along with many companies and organizations across the nation. Take a closer look at what we did in October and what’s to come in November:

National Cyber Security Awareness Month

October was the 10^th annual National Cyber Security Month (NCSAM) – a month dedicated to education and awareness about cyber security issues. To take part, we posted daily security tips on Twitter, engaged in conversations about NCSAM in the social media sphere, and even co-hosted a Twitter chat with fellow security industry experts. Check out our blog post about NCSAM for more on cyber security awareness.

Co-Hosted #ChatSTC for NCSAM

As mentioned above, we were an honored co-host for an official NCSAM edition of #ChatSTC, a regular Twitter chat hosted by STOP. THINK. CONNECT. and the National Cyber Security Alliance. This chat was full of fellow industry experts, including folks from Visa Security, AT&T, FTC, Department of Homeland Security and ESET. Check out our discussion on cybercrime and how to protect against it as a business or individual.

South Carolina Identity Protection Partnership

This month we announced a partnership with the state of South Carolina. For the next year, we will be providing identity protection services to South Carolina taxpayers impacted by a statewide security breach. Those eligible can enroll for the identity protection program at www.scidprotection.com.

More from Joe Ross on Huffington Post

CSID President Joe Ross contributed three additional pieces to his column in the Huffington Post: “How to Start Creating Smart Online Habits,” “Tips for Creating Smart Online Habits,” and “Your Business’ Security Is Online as Strong As Your Employee’s Weakest Tweet.” Take a look and let us know if you have additional tips to share or questions from Joe.

UT Center for Identity Symposium

We always look forward to events hosted by The University of Texas Center for Identity, as they gather the best experts from all parts of the security industry. This month we mingled and learned from the best at another UT Center for Identity Symposium. Learn more about the center and their events.

CSID Does Halloween

Each year our Austin office hosts an exceptional Halloween costume contest – and this year was no let down. We saw some great get-ups, from Doc Brown to the crew from Anchorman to the gang from Mad Men. Congratulations to the winners! Check out all the photos on our Facebook page.

What We’re Looking Forward to in November – we’re looking forward to a proactive month, educating individuals and businesses about the security risks that come during the holidays and preparing for a productive new year. Join us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn for more updates.

U.S. Cyber Security By The Numbers

By Experian PS| 2013-11-01T09:41:37-05:00 October 30th, 2013|Uncategorized|

IBM recently published the 2013 IBM Cyber Security Intelligence Index, a report detailing the global threat landscape across 3,700 IBM clients in 130 countries. The report analyzed the most affected industries and the most comment types of attacks, motivation behind attacks, how human error comes into play and suggestions on how to create a strong cyber security defense. The findings? Cyber threats are increasingly becoming more opportunistic as human fallibility creates vulnerabilities within an organization.

Affected Industries

To get a better understanding of who and what cyber criminals are targeting, researchers took a look at the industries that were most affected. The manufacturing and finance/insurance industries took the lead, accounting for nearly 50 percent of all security incidences. Researchers were not surprised to find that these industries were the most affected, but their interest piqued when seeing a rising number of cyber attacks focused on sabotage compared to the number of espionage cases within these industries. The report shows that attacks are often “aimed at causing physical damage, disruption and safety issues – rather than accessing information.” Why? Because vulnerabilities within organizations often leave attackers with opportunities to cause damage.

The depth of human error

More than 49 percent of the attackers surveyed claimed that existing vulnerabilities or weaknesses were their main motivator to attack in the first place. Having strong defenses in place can be a major deterrent to a cyber attack. However, human fallibility can greatly attribute to a company’s vulnerabilities. According to IBM’s report, humans can account for roughly 80 percent of company breaches.

Reduce vulnerabilities and build awareness

In order to reduce vulnerabilities within a company’s cyber security, IBM provides 10 ways to better protect against cyber attacks. Here are a few recommendations from CSID:

Continue to educate your employees on cyber security risks. Keep employees aware of the types of risks they should look out for and have an open door policy for employees to contact your IT team. Here is a list of the top 10 internet and email scams of 2013 for employees to be aware of.
Build and enforce a strong social media policy. The blurred lines between personal and professional social media use can serve as a weak link in a business’s armor of defense. We recently held a reputation management webinar on this topic – see what our expert panelists suggest when it comes to employee social media use.
Encourage strong passwords and require employees to change them frequently. Employees should never use the same passwords for work and personal use.

Are you surprised at these report findings? How can businesses reduce the amount of human error in cyber security? Let us know what you think on Twitter, Facebook and be sure to check our Tumblr for daily news updates.

Cyber security by the numbers

September Recap: It All Comes Down To This

By Experian PS| 2013-10-02T17:24:23-05:00 October 2nd, 2013|Uncategorized|

With summer officially over, September found us keeping our noses to the grindstone here at CSID. A large portion of September was spent thinking and talking about online reputation management as we prepped for our quarterly CSID cyberSAFE webinar. It all came down to September 24^th, when we hosted the webinar with three very cool panelists (more on that below). But it wasn’t all about work and webinars in September. We also made time for a little fun. Take a look at what we were up to this September:

cyberSAFE Webinar Series: Online Reputation Management

On the 24^th we held a cyberSAFE webinar on “Managing Online Reputation.” We enjoyed the enthusiastic discussion among our panelists: Parry Aftab from Wired Safety, HR consultant and writer Jessica Miller-Merrell, professor of law at Washington University St. Louis Neil Richards, and CSID’s own Bryan Hjelm, VP of Product and Marketing. Read a recap of the webinar discussion or watch it anytime on-demand.

Stemming from that webinar – we also released a corresponding whitepaper and infographic on the topic. Check it out on our blog and feel free to share!

Hosted #cyberSAFEchat with Security Today Magazine

Prior to our webinar, we got together with Ginger Hill, a reporter with Security Today Magazine, to host a Twitter chat about online reputation management. Joined by other industry experts, we discussed how employees’ personal social media use can impact their employers’ businesses reputation and security. Find great tips and takeaways from this chat in our recap.

More from Joe Ross on Huffington Post

CSID President Joe Ross contributed another piece to the Huffington Post: “How to Prevent Child Identity Theft Part Two: What Businesses Can Do.” Take a look and let us know if you have additional tips to share.

Hosted Austin Technology Council Happy Hour

Our Austin office hosted this month’s Austin Technology Council (ATC) happy hour, catered by our favorite food truck in the city, Valentino’s, and complete with CSID-branded cookies. We enjoyed conversations from the ATC, CSID president Joe Ross, as well as a particularly engaging talk about cybersecurity from our Chief Innovation Officer Adam Tyler. It was great to see so many new and familiar faces. Thanks for joining us!

What We’re Looking Forward to in October – National Cyber Security Awareness Month

October is the 10^th annual National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM) and we’re pumped to be a part of it! Join us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn for daily security tips and other NCSAM related posts. We’ll also be co-hosting an official NCSAM Twitter chat on October 24^th about cybercrime with STOP.THINK.CONNECT. and other industry experts. What are you doing for NCSAM?

March Recap: In It to Win It – From Happy Hour to Consumer Research

By Experian PS| 2013-04-12T12:08:05-05:00 April 11th, 2013|Uncategorized|

What a busy month for us. March was full of events, research reports, awards and more. Take a look at the highlights below:

CSID at SXSWi
Since we’re headquartered in Austin, TX, home to South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi), we take part in the festival each year. This year we hosted a booth at the Tech Career Expo during the week, and then enjoyed Sunday evening with colleagues, partners and friends for our Protect Your Buzz Happy Hour. Check out pictures from the event on Facebook, and thanks to everyone who came!

New Partnership and Twitter Chat
This month we became partners with cybersecurity awareness campaign, STOP. THINK. CONNECT. We also co-hosted one of their monthly security themed Twitter chats (#chatstc) with the FTC to discuss child identity protection. We had a great turnout and look forward to hosting another Twitter chat soon.

Child Identity Theft Research and Webinar
We conducted a survey of parents to get insight into their knowledge of and concern about child identity theft. We found that while many parents are aware that child identity theft is a possibility, and most are concerned, there is a clear disconnect among this concern, awareness and the number of parents who are taking proactive action to protect their children. We released the research as a white paper and an infographic, congruent with a live webinar on the topic that we hosted in early April.

CSID’s Joel Lang at Austin AMA
Shout out to Joel Lang, our development director for ETI, who spoke at an Austin AMA event about “monetizing data in the B2B world” with the CEO of nFusion and the VP of Marketing at Bulldog Solutions.

Congrats to Sergey, CUA of the Month
In March, Human Factors International (HFI) named our Senior UI/UX Architect, Sergey Sinyakov, as Certified Usability Analyst (CUA) of the month. In his interview with HFI, Sergey discussed how usability plays into identity theft products. Go Sergey!

What We’re Looking Forward To in April – ID360 Conference
We’re looking forward to hearing CSID VP Bryan Hjelm and Joel Lang, Development Director of ETI, speak at the UT Center for Identity’s annual ID360 Conference later this month. Bryan will be speaking about the future of identity protection on the morning of April 30, while Joel will discuss “The Battle Against Breaches: Going Beyond Signature Based Malware Detection” on May 1. Join us! Register now.

Consumer Password Habits Unveiled

By Experian PS| 2013-08-09T13:14:33-05:00 September 25th, 2012|Uncategorized|

Did you know that nearly 90 percent of consumers feel secure with their current password management and use habits yet 61 percent of those consumers reuse passwords across multiple sites? In a world where security breaches make the headlines seemingly every day, consumers are still careless about password creation, management and security. This is an alarming disconnect that can leave many consumers and businesses open to a data or security breach.

Hackers can access personal information within a matter of minutes. Just a few weeks back, Wired technology reporter Mat Honan’s digital life was abolished after hackers were able to access Mat’s Gmail account—the single piece that caused a domino hack into his Amazon, iCloud and Twitter accounts.

So what can businesses and customers do to prevent similar security breaches from happening?

Our recent webinar, featuring Marc Ostryniec, VP of CSID and Josh Alexander, CEO and co-founder of Toopher, discussed the state of current consumer password habits, the risks these habits pose for consumers and businesses alike, and forward-thinking solutions for businesses.

Learn more about what we know about consumers’ poor password practices and what it means for your business in our white paper, “Consumer Survey: Password Habits. A study of password habits among American consumers.”

Download the White Paper and view the webinar below.

Lost in Neverland: The Growth of Child Identity Theft

By Experian PS| 2013-02-26T15:06:17-06:00 February 15th, 2012|Uncategorized|

One out of ten children is targeted for identity theft.

Child identity theft is a rising problem. Upon stealing a child’s social security number, a thief can run up a hefty amount of credit card debt, take out loans and establish driver’s licenses—and the crimes often go unnoticed until the victim is of age to apply for a credit card or take out college loans.

Gerry Smith of the The Huffington Post recently covered the topic in a series he called “Burdened Beginnings.” He points out:

Schools often put children at risk for identity theft
Foster children are a targeted demographic
Relatives are often the culprits behind theft of a child’s identity. In fact, more than 500,000 children have had their identities stolen by a parent.

CSID put together an infographic to draw attention to the growth of child identity theft, address potential causes and provide recommendations for parents to minimize risk. Check out the graphic in full on CSID’s Facebook and below.

Load More Posts

Infographic: How to Stay Anonymous Online

Mobile Security Infestation: Protecting Yourself and Your Mobile Device

October Recap: National Cyber Security Month and More

U.S. Cyber Security By The Numbers

September Recap: It All Comes Down To This

March Recap: In It to Win It – From Happy Hour to Consumer Research

Consumer Password Habits Unveiled

Lost in Neverland: The Growth of Child Identity Theft

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