Any time you register an account on a website, that data gets stored online. After all, the website needs to know that you entered the correct username and password to grant you access to your account again! Even when you share your data 100% offline, such as on a new patient form at a dentist’s office, it’s ultimately entered into a computer as well. Your name, email address, physical addresses, passwords (and secret answers/hints), phone number, credit and debit card numbers, and birthdate are likely being stored by hundreds of organizations.

Also think about your social security number, which you might consider to be your most private piece of personal information. Is it really all that private? You’ve shared it with your employer, bank, credit card companies and other lenders, insurance and healthcare providers, utility companies, every college you applied to, government agencies, your tax accountant, and more!

All of these organizations you share data with also share it with other organizations - sometimes out of necessity, but sometimes just for profit (ever wonder how you get junk mail from companies you’ve never heard of?).

By now, hopefully you have the sense that your data is everywhere - and everywhere it exists is an opportunity for it to get stolen. In the same sense as physical security, no matter how much money, time, and effort organizations spend on cybersecurity, sometimes thieves get the upper hand. Even corporate giants like Robinhood, LinkedIn, Facebook, DoorDash, Marriott, and CapitalOne aren’t invincible - they have all been victims of recent cyber attacks. The most infamous cybersecurity incidents in recent history was when Equifax let hackers walk away with the social security numbers of nearly 50% of all Americans. Even companies that might feel harmless to share your data with, like Zynga, the developer of the games Words With Friends, Farmville, and DrawSomething, are vulnerable. Zynga suffered a data breach in September 2019 that exposed the email addresses, usernames, passwords, and phone numbers of 200 million users.

Before you start researching remote properties in Alaska to live off-the-grid for the rest of your life, take a deep breath! And don’t sign up in a panic for an expensive, unnecessary (and in some ways even unsafe - more on that another time!) identity theft protection service. There are a number of free and low-cost solutions to protect yourself, your loved ones, and your employees from incidents like this. You might just need some help navigating these solutions, and All Set Cybersecurity is here to help!

An important first step on this journey is to find out if your data was part of any cyber attacks! If you haven't already, visit our home page to get started.