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Wombat Security Technologies Honors "Data Privacy Day" With Five Key Security TipsPITTSBURGH, PA, Jan 29, 2013 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- As a champion of "Data Privacy Day," a nationally recognized day to acknowledge the empowerment of all people to protect their privacy, control their digital footprint and escalate the protection of data privacy, Wombat Security Technologies (Wombat) is offering five practical data privacy tips to help people protect their identity and valuable data. In a time featuring high profile identity and data privacy hacks like the Manti Te'O scandal, Sony breach litigation and LinkedIn password debacle, data privacy has never been more of a concern to all citizens and businesses alike. The following tips can help safeguard personal data and protect users from embarrassing and costly data breaches. 1. Don't enter sensitive information on Social Media sites. Sensitive information includes your address, phone number, place of birth, date of birth, or children's birthdays. Each one of these pieces of information, when combined with other public information, could be used to create a believable scam or steal your identity. 2. Don't download apps that use your address book. Assuming your contact information has the names of your family, friends, and colleagues this is a treasure trove of data that gives people, sometimes the wrong people, a lot of information about you. 3. Turn off geotagging for photos, or social media posts. This piece of information lets people know where you are at any given moment. 4. Check your privacy settings. Do you really know what information your browser, email system, or social media networks are collecting about you and how this information might be shared Do you know who all the friends of your friends are That could be a pretty big group. If you use a "friends-of-friends" setting you could be sharing your posts and photos with thousands of people. 5. Don't share or use passwords on multiple systems. It is never smart to share your password with someone else. Sharing your password gives this person access to log-in under your name and do whatever they want. There will be no way to prove whether you downloaded that sensitive data or published that social media post, or whether your "friend" did. Also, if you use the same password for many systems, anyone who has your password now has the password for all of the systems you use. Teaching people how to protect their privacy is fundamental to keeping themselves and their employer safe. Wombat has developed a library of software training solutions, including Social Engineering Assessments and Interactive Software Training modules that leverage memorable lessons to teach employees how to avoid cyber-attacks. Wombat's modules cover the most current privacy hot buttons like Smartphone Security, Safe Social Networks, Personally Identifiable Information (PII), Security Beyond the Office, and Password Security. About Data Privacy Day Led by the National Cyber Security Alliance, Data Privacy Day began in the United States and Canada in January 2008 as an extension of the Data Protection Day celebration in Europe. The Day commemorates the 1981 signing of Convention 108 -- the first legally binding international treaty dealing with privacy and data protection. Data Privacy Day is a celebration for everyone and an effort to empower people to protect their privacy, control their digital footprint and escalate the protection of data privacy as everyone's priority. Wombat Security Technologies and its Privacy Background Wombat was founded in 2008, by three faculty members of the Carnegie Mellon University's School of Computer Science. The three co-founders, Drs. Norman Sadeh, Jason Hong, and Lorrie Cranor are all active leaders in the Company and internationally recognized authorities in Privacy and Security. Drs. Sadeh and Cranor also co-founded and co-direct the first ever Master's of Science program in Privacy Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, a program created to address growing industry demand for formally trained Privacy Engineers. Today Wombat is helping Fortune 1000 customers, large government agencies and small to medium businesses in segments such as finance, banking, higher education, retail, technology, energy, insurance, and consumer packaged goods strengthen their cyber security defenses. For more information, visit www.wombatsecurity.com or contact Lorraine Kauffman-Hall at 704-882-0443 or [email protected] Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2013/1/28/11G003511/Images/DPD-logo-973857271276.jpg <strong>Contact: Lorraine Kauffman-Hall [email protected] 704-882-0443 or Amy Baker [email protected] 412-621-1484 x 115</strong> SOURCE: Wombat Security Technologies, Inc. mailto:[email protected] mailto:[email protected] |
