NLB Blog

Unlike the younger generations who grew up with the internet, tablets and modern technology, older family members can face unique challenges in today’s digital world. Many technologies serve to make tasks simpler, provide personalized services or hold capabilities that benefit seniors and older adults.  Yet the online world is host to a variety of threats that may not be obvious to older users.

Considering the historic levels of data breaches during the past few years, fraud and identity crimes are a threat to families everywhere. While adults may know that they need to take precautions to protect their personally identifiable information (PII), making sure your children understand the same safety steps is just as important.

Anywhere you are asked for a form of identification, such as the airport or the DMV, acceptable documents typically include a driver’s license, birth certificate, passport or Social Security card. But in an increasingly online world, digital identity credentials are becoming more common. In fact, 98% of security professionals have reported an increase in the number of identities they manage within the last year – meaning there are more digital identities than ever before.

Some people are naturally good at pretending to be something they are not. With access to more advanced technology, the criminally minded are now able to carry out extremely convincing impersonations, taking social engineering to a new level.

Posing as bankers, government officials, romantic suitors and more, the bad guys are deploying all kinds of highly effective imposter scams.

Cybercriminals have been getting more sophisticated in their attacks, employing advanced technologies like automation and artificial intelligence (AI) to make their attacks more effective. While it once was considered secure to use a six- or eight-character password to keep your personal information safe, today’s cyber landscape requires stronger, more secure password protection

Chances are, you’re among the 72% of Americans who use social media. Maybe you enjoy the “short and sweet” appeal of Twitter and Snapchat, or you like Facebook because it’s a great place to stay in touch with old friends and family. If you’re a real social media maven, you could be active on all the major platforms. It doesn’t matter which site or app you choose, though. What is important is how you use social media and what you’re sharing — or oversharing.

As the year comes to a close, many people pause to reflect on the past 12 months and prepare for the new year ahead. That pause and reflection can often help us reset our perspective and prepare for the new year. When it comes to evaluating the evolving risks to our personal information, an end-of-year recap can be useful to prepare for the new risk trends that are on the horizon. 

Credential stuffing is a type of cyberattack where cybercriminals take large databases of usernames and passwords, often stolen through recent data breaches, and attempt to “stuff” the account logins into other web applications using an automated process. Such attacks are common, as 63% of the data compromised in social engineering attacks were login credentials.

Companies often claim that their employees are their greatest asset. Another valuable asset is the data that those companies collect about their employees, customers and vendors. Every business should be helping to ensure their staff understands the value of data and the importance of protecting it. Continuous education programs can help safeguard your employees’ confidential information and protect against the cyberattacks and data breaches that can lead to financial damage, fraud, and identity theft. Embedding helpful reminders and security best practices throughout employee and customer communications is an ongoing process.

Ransomware is a form of malware, or malicious software, used to encrypt sensitive files held in business and personal devices, essentially locking users out of their own data or networks. Once deployed, the ransomware encryption restricts access to files and the victim receives a notice that a “ransom” must be paid to unlock the data or device. The ransom request often requires payment by Bitcoin or other types of anonymous cryptocurrency. Access to data is supposed to be restored once the ransom is paid and the attackers provide a decryption key.