Privacy Protection

The crusade toward passing online privacy protection laws continues to expand, with several more states adopting consumer privacy legislation this year. California has been at the forefront of the movement to keep its residents safer online, having already passed the most effective consumer privacy protection in the nation. 

A new ransomware headline appears every week, a frightening indication of how prevalent such attacks have become. But when Change Healthcare, one of the nation’s largest providers, was hit in February of this year, the impact was severe enough to draw the attention of the US Congress. 

While the exposure of patient records in the attack was concerning enough, broader repercussions were even more severe. The disruption extended beyond the data breach, impacting practitioners, pharmacies, insurance companies, and patient care:

We know you didn’t publicize your home address online, but you may have provided your address when you ordered pizza for delivery. That pizza place sold your information to data brokers and people-finder websites. Others who likely have sold your personal information to these brokers include your tax preparer, or anyone else that you’ve provided information to in return for a free loyalty program or service.

 If that makes you uncomfortable, you can do something about it. Join us in our upcoming webinar.

When a weapon is used in a crime, judges often impose stricter sentences. But amidst political turmoil, controversial legal decisions, and a general decrease in civility, information may now be the most harmful weapon. 

Earlier this month, it was revealed that an alleged privacy protection provider called Onerep was playing fast and loose with the personal information of its clients.

In fact, the company’s owner had also launched dozens of people-search services over the years that sold people’s information, while Onerep charged those same people to have their content taken down.

There’s an old saying that you can’t put toothpaste back in the tube. It simply means that some actions, once taken, can't be undone.

Sadly, many individuals believe that is true about their online privacy, and the copious amount of personal information now accessible about them online. Many organizations with hundreds or thousands of employees feel the same way – it’s too late now to turn back time and retroactively remove that content before it can be weaponized.

But that’s not true.

Data breaches and ransomware attacks are a global threat – but a recent report revealed that American organizations are a favorite target.

According to critical infrastructure security company Dragos, 44% of ransomware attacks last year targeted North American organizations. And every year, the number of breaches goes up, as does the number of victims. In January of 2023, T-Mobile announced that an unidentified malicious intruder breached its network and stole data on 37 million customers, including home addresses, phone numbers and dates of birth.

What is a weapon? One dictionary defines that term as “any implement  used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill.”

Over the course of human history weapons have evolved from rocks to clubs to knives to guns.

But in a world connected through online communication, your privacy has become the most dangerous weapon of all.

In previous blogs we’ve discussed how artificial intelligence can fake a colleague or loved one’s voice within a phishing attack designed to extort money from unsuspecting victims. But to many this still sounds like science fiction – something that may be possible technologically, but would require such planning to execute that its unlikely anyone would actually try it.

I mean, rather than go through all that trouble, why not just get a real job, and make your money honestly?