Summertime data breaches. Time to change your passwords?

Corporations continue to suffer data breaches and leaks of customer data.  Recently we have seen Ticketmaster, Rite Aid, and ATT suffer intrusions.

What's a concerned individual to do?

1. Use a password manager. If a company you do business with is hacked, you can should change your password and check to see if you used that same password on any other websites.  Want to be proactive? Most password managers offer to check your current password list to see whether you are reusing any passwords, or if any of your current passwords are already known by hackers. In 1Password, it's called Watchtower. Using a password manager also means it's easy to randomize your passwords so that if one site gets hacked, it will not affect your other logins.

2. Be wary of scams. They could come via phone call, email, or text message. If you're not sure what to do, we can check any email or text message for authenticity. You can forward suspicious messages to us (remote support via email or text message starts at $50). Ultimately, if a service you use reaches out and you're not sure whether it's legitimate, login to your account directly at the company's website by typing their website into your web browser. Don't click the link in a message.