This problem is so huge in our data driven world today, this page will always fall short of all of the information regarding the subject. - It is most important that we are all aware and diligent in our efforts to maintain our own information security.
Cyber Security - Now, this is a topic that can and will affect each of us at some time, if not already. Given the number of examples of data breaches in the past few years, I felt it important to put this page in place. We must be prepared to protect ourselves and our information from thieves, scammers and con artists.
This page will grow as I understand more effective ways to help people protect themselves and loved ones.
Careful use of our personal identification is critical. If we are going to use email and other means of communication, it is imperative that we learn how to protect ourselves and watch out for those who are phishing for information. Often times it comes in the form of an email indicating that you have something for free or perhaps there is a problem with your account. Never "click" on those links that show up on emails as it can open you up to a whole world of difficulties. It is usually easy to verify the sender to assure authenticity. Here is just one example - Suppose you get a message that is supposed to be from your bank, it looks totally legitimate and even has their logo on it. Be sure to look at the email header that shows who actually sent it. Also, take a good look at what is written (DO NOT CLICK ON ANYTHING) often times crooks misspell words or the grammar indicates the person does not understand simple English.- If it isn't your bank, delete it promptly. If it seems to authentic, still be aware and perhaps make a quick call to your bank to verify it. If you don't know who it is, remember what we teach our children - "Stranger Danger".
(This information is also currently found on the Safety/First Aid page)
The threats of cyber attacks are endless. While speaking to a friend at a car dealership, he told me that last year they could not sell cars, or even look up contacts in their system. Everything they did, had to be using pen and paper. This is a nationwide dealership and they had been "hacked". Most likely by someone using ransomware. This is where they infiltrate your network and take control. In order to get them to release control. They charge a fee, usually in the millions. (reports suggest the ransom was in the tens of millions of $) - Now they hope they can be trusted to live up to their end of the deal. - This later became publicly known by the software developer that was hacked - CDK Global - It affected about 15,000 dealerships nationwide which no doubt cost each of those dealerships to lose money and sales. We all knows who winds up paying for those costs in the end.
Another very close friend of mine has a full time responsibility working with the State of California against cyber criminals. I have recently reached out to him to hopefully provide even more direction in this area from his perspective. While he cannot comment on specifics due to the criminality of the areas he investigates, I do know that they are extremely busy and the number of cyber attacks is quite large.
Another form of cyber attacks that take place is the mis-use of AI, Artificial Intelligence, to create videos, pictures and documents that have the look and feel of the real thing. These are a different sort of attack. Surely they can be used to cheat someone for personal gain, but they can also be used to attack the spirit of people. Our Church leadership has warned us of these things for a long time now. They have talked to young and old alike to help people understand the need to become informed when it comes to social media and all of the misleading of innocent people that goes on. Not long ago, President Russel M Nelson addressed this sort of thing with his statement "In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost". The corruption and intentional mileading of people is rampant. We each must be diligent in protecting ourselves and our family members by staying close to the Spirit.