Last week, hackers stole data from VTech servers compromising the account information of 200,000 kids and 5 million parents. This was on the heels of an Experian breach, affecting 15 million T-Mobile customers. With all of these fast and furious breaches occurring, how can you tell if you are a victim?
The good news is the details from all of the major hacks are publicly available and can be searched to see if your email address is among them. There are a number of websites that consolidate this information for searching but some are fronts for email harvesting services so you need to be cautious when making your selection.
One reputable considation site is havibeenpwnd.com. Enter your email address and the site will tell you if your information has been stolen, where the breach occurred and what personal details were compromised, including your username, password, and even password hints.
If you find out that you have been hacked, the first thing you should do is reset your passwords. Do this for every account, beginning with your email account, followed by your financial and other critical accounts. You want to start with your email because typically password resets for your other accounts would be delivered via email. Don’t use the same password repeatedly, use a mix of special characters, capitals and lower case letters, and don’t use personal information for your password hints that can be easily determined from your social media accounts.
Next, have your IT service provider scan your computer or mobile device using a trusted and up to date anti-virus.
Finally, in the case of identity theft, file a fraud alert with the three major credit bureaus. Request new cards from your bank and credit card companies, and if appropriate, file a report with your local police department.
Unfortunately there is no way to completely eliminate the risk of hack attacks and data breaches but by taking safeguards and arming yourself with the knowledge of what to do if you find you have been attacked will help you minimize the damage.
To learn how your business can benefit from virtualization, cloud services, and hosted applications, signup for a Free RevITup SilverCloud Assessment. For more information on solutions for running your businesses’ technology more efficiently, visit our website or contact Megan Meisner at mmeisner@launchpadonline.com or 813 448-7100 x210.
