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When it comes to cybersecurity, we are all in a state of emergency, but the real question is – is anybody listening?
A recent poll commissioned by Intercede, a digital security company, asked more than 1,000 men and women between the ages of 16-35 (aka millennials) in the U.S. and over 1,000 in the UK if they believed current safeguards are effectively protecting their digital identities and personal identifying information from exposure. The resounding answer from some 95% was “NO.”
This is yet another Paul Revere moment, in a string of recurring wake-up calls, and a very sad commentary on the state of cybersecurity efforts by public and private sector organizations.
The Intercede press release refers to a growing “millennial malaise” toward existing safeguards – among them “easily-hackable, widely used password-based authentication methods.” While this may change during the next few years as many organizations work to harden their defenses (at risk of raising regulators’ hackles and class-action attorneys’ level of excitement) and experiment with various new ways to authenticate from fingerprints to blinking “selfies,” this doesn’t change the current state of data insecurity and the perception that privacy is on life support.
So—in the absence of instant security gratification at a time when breaches have become the third certainty in life and consumers are the product – how do we better protect ourselves?
As I talk about in my new book Swiped, it’s time to think out of the box and develop a new paradigm for personal protection. I call it “The 3Ms.”
Identity thieves have become far more sophisticated, breaches have become more plentiful (can you say Target, Home Depot, Neiman Marcus, Anthem, Premera, Carefirst, the Office of Personnel Management and Ashley Madison?) and the direct and collateral damage has become harder to detect and more difficult to unravel. Well over 1 billion files — much containing sensitive or very sensitive personal information — have been improperly accessed in the past few years. Chances your information, despite your best efforts, is now out there and in the possession of someone whose vocation is to exploit your data for their personal gain. The ravages of identity theft go far beyond dollars and cents – criminal, medical, tax-related fraud to name a few.
So, what can you do if you see signs that you’ve become a victim? Notify the authorities, who can create an identity theft incident report you can use to straighten out your credit and identity issues down the road. You may want to consider freezing or placing a fraud alert on your credit as well, depending on what’s been compromised.
Many organizations (insurance companies, banks, credit unions, employers, universities) have programs in place to help their clients, customers, policy holders or members navigate the treacherous waters of an identity incident. You may already be enrolled in such a program but you won’t know unless you either read the fine print or ask. So call your insurance agent, banker, customer service rep or the HR department where you work and ask: if they offer such assistance as a perk of your relationship; are you in it; if it’s free; and, if not, what’s the cost?
Never forget – the ultimate guardian of the consumer is the consumer and no one has a bigger stake in protecting your economic security and well-being than you.
This story is an Op/Ed contribution to Credit.com and does not necessarily represent the views of the company or its partners.
Image: iStock
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