The Importance of Safeguarding Your Digital Assets: How to Protect Yourself from a Security Breach

News reports of cyber-attacks and breaches that expose Americans’ personal information are now commonplace. Over 3 million records are compromised daily and 974 breaches were reported in the first half of 2016 alone. Most troubling of all, identity theft attacks accounted for 64 percent of these breaches. With this growing threat to our personal information, people are seeking ways to protect themselves. Fortunately, there are effective steps you can take to protect yourself from identity theft. Below are some tips that everyone should consider: • Password Security – Make a point to periodically change your passwords and usernames for email, financial and social media accounts. If your information was exposed in a breach, immediately change your logins and passwords. Account credentials can be further strengthened by enabling 2-step verification on all accounts. • Account Monitoring – Ensure that you regularly monitor activity on your credit and financial accounts. Any suspicious or fraudulent transactions should be reported immediately to your financial institutions. • Identity Protection - If your data was involved in a breach and you have been offered identity protection and/or credit monitoring because of the breach, you should take advantage of it. Despite your own best efforts and those of your financial institutions, you may still become the victim of a security breach. If you become the victim of a breach or have reason to be concerned about identity theft, consider taking the following steps: • Order a Credit Report – Order a credit report from all three national credit reporting agencies. These agencies must provide you free copies of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months. Credit reports can be obtained online or by phone from Equifax (800-525-6285), TransUnion (800-680-7289), and Experian (888-397-3742). • Consider a Credit Freeze - A credit freeze is one of the best ways to prevent identity theft because it restricts access to your credit report, making it difficult for identity thieves to open new accounts in your name. While it does not protect existing accounts, it usually stops new accounts from being opened because your credit will be inaccessible, and most companies will not extend credit without access to a credit report. Since a credit freeze essentially locks down your credit, no one, including you, can open a new credit account in your name while it is in place. • Implement a Fraud Alert - A fraud alert is available to identity theft victims and warns anyone checking your credit report that you may have been a victim of identity theft. Thus, anyone applying for credit in your name will be highly scrutinized, and you will likely be contacted before credit is extended. With the advent of the information age, we face new challenges in securing our digital assets. Those challenges also extend to businesses, which have an ever-growing responsibility to protect sensitive client and customer information. If you are a business owner, it is advisable to consult with a professional to ensure your company has a plan in place to address data security breaches if they occur. Kurt Bratten, Esq. is a Partner at O’Connell and Aronowitz, and he is responsible for managing the firm’s Cybersecurity and HIPAA Compliance practice. Kurt regularly counsels health care providers and other institutional clients regarding data security requirements and practices, HIPAA, and how to respond to security breaches. Mr. Bratten can be reached at 518-584-5205, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and www.oalaw.com.