And how to evade them The newest research by NordVPN shows that Canadian websites have 16.4 trackers on average. This is the eighth biggest result out of the 20 countries studied. Streaming websites in Canada have even more – 25 trackers on average. Next come health websites with 23 trackers per website. Digital media sites…
Cyber vulnerability is humanity’s contemporary Achilles heel
The Greek Scientists Society recently invited me to speak at their inaugural international virtual conference on “Cybersecurity and the New Global Economy of the 21st Century”. Cybersecurity is clearly top of mind these days for individuals, civil society, businesses, financial institutions, and governments at all levels. The Greek Scientist Society was founded two years ago…
Four steps to reduce the risk of cybersecurity incidents adversely impacting your organization’s future
Cybersecurity lapses continue to make headlines and undermine the fiscal health and reputation of the targeted organizations. Executives are under constant pressure to accommodate all the demands made on them. Providing a little leadership on cybersecurity doesn’t fit well on the to-do list. Meetings with IT specialists often frustrate executives for one or more of…
The average data breach cost to Canadian firms studied hit $7 million
With Cyber Security Awareness Month almost upon us, I thought it might be helpful for executives to see an actionable list of topics to ask their techies about. Reasonable answers will build your confidence that your organization’s risk of a cyber security breach is being sensibly addressed. The average data breach cost to Canadian firms studied…
The signs you've been hacked and how to minimize the risk
Hackers try to hide their activities and hope you won’t notice when they steal your identity and your data from your smartphone. Here are the more frequent signs that you’re being hacked and how to minimize the risk or thwart the attack. Unsecure Wi-Fi Wi-Fi in public places, such as cafes or stores, is often…
How many breaches must we read about before we take action to protect our customer information?
I’m astonished that major data breach stories are still occurring and generating unnerving headlines. How many of these instances do we have to read about before we finally take at least basic action to protect our customer information? As a result of an attack, adult dating and pornography website company FriendFinder Networks exposed the personal…
October is Cyber Security Awareness Month. But don't wait until then to incorporate security measures
Phishing has evolved into the most effective social engineering attack hackers use to infiltrate organizations. Phishing aims to con employees into unknowingly downloading malware or revealing their access credentials. The best defence is our individual vigilance. Phishing.org defines phishing as “a cybercrime in which a target or targets are contacted by email, telephone or text…
I'm thinking I would have better luck taking my chances with fraudsters
What do we do when efforts to preserve our privacy are more of an intrusion than the potential lack of privacy? Take banks. We can all be the victims of identity theft and fraud. We need to be careful. So do banks. A generation ago, a few pieces of ID got a check cashed. No…
Never operate a computer without anti-virus software
Recent ransomware attacks highlight how appealing and lucrative these raids are to hackers. Ransomware is malicious software that installs itself on the computers on your network and encrypts all the files, making them inaccessible to your staff. On payment of the ransom, you typically receive a key consisting of a string of letters and numbers…
Your employees can inadvertently be a cybercriminal’s best friend
When breaking through an organization’s security defences, employees who create vulnerabilities are a cybercriminal’s best friend. While technical security safeguards are essential, employees continue to be the weakest link when it comes to protecting corporate information from cybercriminals of various shapes, sizes and motivations. Cybercriminals regularly convince inattentive employees, through a phishing attack, to engage…