Le Lézard
Classified in: Science and technology
Subjects: NPT, PSF

The National Cyber Security Alliance and Better Business Bureau Encourage "Digital Spring Cleaning" for Everyone


WASHINGTON, April 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- With spring in full swing, there is a good chance that your weekend plans may include scrubbing, sweeping and sprucing up your home for the season. While clearing clutter is an annual ritual for many households, the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) and Better Business Bureau (BBB) have teamed up to remind all consumers not to be digital hoarders and to freshen up their online lives. By conducting a digital spring cleaning and taking care of overdue online maintenance, you will be safer and more secure against losing personal information and becoming a victim of identity theft.

National Cyber Security Alliance. (PRNewsFoto/National Cyber Security Alliance)

"A single breach in September 2017 hit nearly 148 million Americans ? exposing Social Security numbers, birthdates, addresses and other highly personal information," said Russ Schrader, NCSA's executive director. "The average consumer is doing very little to protect their data. Our connected devices contain volumes of details about family and friends. Information like contacts, photos and videos, along with confidential health and financial records, could easily get into the wrong hands and cause chaos. Doing a digital spring cleaning will help keep your valuable information more secure and assist in protecting you against identity theft, which continues to be a top online safety concern."

A good rule of thumb is to consistently keep a keen eye on all sensitive accounts like online banking, your credit cards and credit report. A recent survey indicates that half of Americans still have not checked their credit reports since the previously referenced breach. If you are in that 50 percent, take action to fix this as soon as possible.  Then, as you prepare to digitally declutter, spend a few minutes reviewing NCSA's STOP. THINK. CONNECT.tm tips and the additional advice listed. When it comes to rolling up your sleeves and actually starting the cleanup process, stay organized by following this handy checklist, which breaks the bulk of the tasks into four buckets: keeping a clean machine, staying secure, cleaning up your online reputation and purging files.

"Last year, consumers filed more than 47,000 reports to BBB Scam Tracker about a wide variety of scams, and we found the riskiest are online scams," said Bill Fanelli, chief security officer with the Council of Better Business Bureaus. "It's vitally important that consumers and businesses alike develop and stick to good habits on how data is collected, stored, and shared, and how it is disposed of when it's no longer relevant. Digital Spring Cleaning means treating both paper files and electronic files securely; destroying old hard drives, data sticks, cell phones, and tablets; deleting old files; updating passwords; and making sure you have the most up-to-date versions of operating systems, software, apps, and malware protection."

A digital refresh is a relatively simple process. NCSA has identified our top, trouble-free tips and advice that everyone should follow beginning this spring and throughout the year.

Here are some user-friendly, actionable guidelines to assist with the safe disposal of electronically stored data. Prep your data in advance of participating in BBB's Secure Your ID Day:

Events and Resources

About NCSA
NCSA is the nation's leading nonprofit, public-private partnership promoting cybersecurity and privacy education and awareness. NCSA works with a broad array of stakeholders in government, industry and civil society. NCSA's primary partners are DHS and NCSA's Board of Directors, which includes representatives from ADP; Aetna; AT&T Services Inc.; Bank of America; Barclays; CDK Global, LLC; Cisco; Comcast Corporation; ESET North America; Facebook; Google; Intel Corporation; Logical Operations; Marriott International; Mastercard; Microsoft Corporation; NXP Semiconductors; Raytheon; RSA, the Security Division of EMC; Salesforce; SANS Security Awareness; Symantec Corporation; TeleSign; Visa and Wells Fargo. NCSA's core efforts include National Cyber Security Awareness Month (October); Data Privacy Day (Jan. 28); STOP. THINK. CONNECT.tm, the global online safety awareness and education campaign co-founded by NCSA and the Anti-Phishing Working Group with federal government leadership from DHS; and CyberSecure My Businesstm, which offers webinars, web resources and workshops to help businesses be resistant to and resilient from cyberattacks. For more information on NCSA, please visit staysafeonline.org/about-us/overview/

ABOUT BBB
For more than 100 years, Better Business Bureau has been helping people find businesses, brands and charities they can trust. In 2017, people turned to BBB more than 160 million times for BBB Business Profiles on more than 5.2 million businesses and Charity Reports on 11,000 charities, all available for free at bbb.org. The Council of Better Business Bureaus is the umbrella organization for the local, independent BBBs in the United States, Canada and Mexico, as well as home to its national and international programs on dispute resolution, advertising review and industry self-regulation.

SOURCE National Cyber Security Alliance


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