Business Trends: CYBERSECURITY
Digital hygiene A
Protecting data is key in today’s connected world by Veronica Garabelli
bout a decade ago, Alyson New- ton was able to detect a fraudulent transaction under her name due to
an identity theft protection service provided by her bank. “I was definitely con cerned, but also
felt fortunate that I had the tools and the skills to navigate the complexity of the mat- ter,” says Newton, vice president and execu- tive and professional specialty practice leader at Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC in Richmond. There isn’t a foolproof way for consum-
ers to protect themselves against identity theft and data breaches, but there are precau- tions they can take. Efforts to safeguard per- sonal information are increasingly important as data breaches become more common. Twitter, Facebook and Uber are just
a few of the companies that have recently announced data breaches impacting millions of customers. Identity theft was the third- biggest complaint reported by Virginians to the Federal Trade Commission, accounting for 7,656 reports in 2017. In the age of the internet and smart
devices, how can consumers protect their personal information, and what should they do if they are victims of a cybersecurity breach? Virginia Business spoke to experts around the state to find out.
Proactive approach Newton recommends signing up for an
identity theft protection service, which starts at about $10 per month, depending on the vendor and the type of service offered. These services can provide credit mon-
itoring, which tracks activity on the custom- er’s credit report, such as when a new loan or credit card is issued under consumers’ names or their credit limits change. The services also may offer identity
monitoring, which alerts customers when their personal information is being used in ways that don’t show up on credit reports.
Photo by Caroline Martin
Cybersecurity expert Joseph DePlato doesn’t use debit or credit cards when he shops.
These activities include change of address requests or payday loan applications. Customers also may be notified if their
information appears on certain parts of the Dark Web, a part of the internet that is only accessible by special software and is often used by thieves to trade stolen information. In addition to paying for an identity
theft protection service, Newton keeps her credit frozen and recommends others do the same if they’re not applying for a mortgage or another type of loan. “I did have to lift [the freeze] once
because my husband and I moved into a new home about seven years so, so I literally lifted it with a [passcode] so that our new mortgage loan could go through, and then I clamped it back down,” she says. A number of organizations, such as
LifeLock or Experian, provide identity theft protection services. Nonetheless, few Vir- ginia-based firms conduct investigations to help consumers to determine how their per- sonal information has been stolen online. “Most consumers aren’t going to have
the cash sitting around to have an inves- tigation done into their stuff,” says Joseph De Plato, co-founder and chief technology officer with BlueStone Analytics in Char-
www.VirginiaBusiness.com
lottesville, which provides such a service for businesses. Insurance to help individuals deal
with cybersecurity breaches is available. For example, AIG, Chubb and Pure offer cyber insurance in addition to homeowner’s insur- ance for consumers whose homes are worth $1 million or more. The supplemental cover- age, helps recoup a customer’s financial loss from a cybersecurity breach, up to $250,000 to $1 million on average. The additional insurance also can include coverage for deal- ing with cyber bullying or cyber extortion. “On a business level it’s been out there
for a few years,” says Julie Rison, a broker and vice president, private client division, at Marsh & McLennan Agency in Richmond. “On the personal level it’s gotten to be more of a need. It wouldn’t surprise me if other carriers followed suit soon.”
Valuable information According to DePlato, no information
is off the table for cyber criminals. They’re after anything that identifies consum- ers, including email addresses, passwords, usernames, job titles and phone numbers. “Everything’s valuable,” he says. A username and password, for
VIRGINIA BUSINESS 47
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72
