Individuals at Risk
Cyber Update
Patch Tuesday, 2016 U.S. Election Edition: Let’s get this out of the way up front: Having “2016 election” in the headline above is probably the only reason anyone might read this story today. It remains unclear whether Republicans and Democrats can patch things up after a bruising and divisive election, but thanks to a special Election Day Patch Tuesday hundreds of millions of Adobe and Microsoft users have some more immediate patching to do.

We focus a lot on network and computer security.  But what should you be doing to keep your smartphone secure?

New smartphones may cost $700 or more, but that is nothing compared to the value of the data stored on your phone.  Identity theft alone will cost you more than $1500 and a huge amount of time to fix.

Individuals at Risk
Identity Theft
IRS and Security Summit partners expand identity theft safeguards for 2017: As the IRS, taxpayers, and tax practitioners get ready for the 2017 tax filing season, the IRS touted the successes that it and its Security Summit partners have had in reducing tax return identity theft during the 2016 filing season and described how it will expand its efforts in the fight for 2017 (IR-2016-144). Security Summit partners include state tax authorities, tax preparation businesses (including tax preparation software companies), and banks.

SecureTheVillage
SecureTheVillage launches weekly podcast:Whether you’re a business leader or a private citizen, SecureTheVillage’s Cybersecurity News of the Week gives you important up-to-date information you need regarding cybercrime, cyber privacy and information security.

Individuals at Risk
Identity Theft
LinkedIn says hacking suspect is tied to breach that stole 117M passwords: An alleged Russian hacker arrested in the Czech Republic following an FBI-coordinated tip-off is suspected of taking part in a 2012 breach of LinkedIn that resulted in the theft of more than 117 million user passwords, representatives of the professional networking site said Wednesday.

Individuals at Risk
Identity Theft
Unsecured database lets hacker expose 58 million plus records from data management firm: A hacker scanning for unsecured databases was able to compromise at least 58.8 million records – and possibly as many as 258 million – from Modern Business Solutions (MBS), a data management and monetization firm primarily serving the automotive, employment and real-estate industries.

Individuals at Risk
Cyber Privacy
Facebook enables encryption for mobile Messenger app’s 900M users Facebook this week said the roughly 900 million account holders who use its mobile Messenger app each month can now make their conversations illegible to eavesdroppers after it finished rolling out a feature that uses end-to-end encryption to protect private messages from prying eyes.

Individuals at Risk
Cyber Defense
How to pick a password manager: After the Yahoo breach exposed personal data about 500 million users, many people are looking for ways to protect themselves online. That’s where password managers come in. Christian Science Monitor, September 30, 2016
Information Security Management in the Organization
Information Security Management and Governance
10 Things You Need to Do if your Business Gets Hacked: What’s worse than a massive data breach? Not reporting it.

Individuals at Risk
Identity Theft
Yahoo Says Hackers Stole Data on 500 Million Users in 2014: SAN FRANCISCO — Yahoo announced on Thursday that the account information of at least 500 million users was stolen by hackers two years ago, in the biggest known intrusion of one company’s computer network.

Individuals at Risk
Identity Theft
Identity Theft: How To Protect Yourself Or Resolve It: Identity theft impacts more than 17 million consumers every year, and consumers over 50 can be particularly vulnerable. This year is on track to exceed the 780 data breaches of 2015, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center.