Hi everyone,
I hope you’re having a wonderful morning. Here is the latest selection of news articles and security tips that you need to be aware of today. As always, let us know if you need anything at all. We are at your disposal 24 hours a day seven days a week. Also, if you have 30 seconds it would be great if you could post a review for us on the Google Play Store. It will help get the oldest and world’s first anti-spyware system for the everyday person back up on top of the rankings π This is my 1,200th blog posting as well π
Ok, let’s start with the scariest of them allβ¦ Artificial intelligence.
Artificial Intelligence Watch
Continuing on the subject (I wrote this earlier in the year) of how deepfakes are being used to trick people into transferring money, here is a great news article explaining how deep-fake swindlers scammed victims out of $46 million in a Hong Kong AI scam. 27 people were involved in this romance scam that used AI face-swapping techniques to defraud victims of 46 million through fake cryptocurrency investments Please, be extra careful. When you’re talking to somebody on a video call, we now live in a world where you may be talking to a synthetic clone. Have a password between your friends and your loved ones, a password that you agree on in person, not over the Internet. If you are ever unsure of the legitimacy of the video call, or of the phone call, ask the person to give you the password.
Artificial intelligence is revolutionising the world we live in, some people say it’s bad and some people say it’s good but regardless, it represents a serious risk in terms of cyber security. Hackers are now using artificial intelligence to automatically build sophisticated attack methods in seconds, using the voices of your friends and family to deceive you. The best protection is to make sure your devices are fully up-to-date, you’re running the latest security on your devices, and to add a layer of scepticism to your daily interactions. Trust me, I have seen many hundreds of people have their bank accounts emptied in seconds and it’s very hard, if not impossible to get that money back once it has gone.
Cybersecurity Scams Watch
Can you spot an investment scam? I’ve written about it before, but I have seen many people getting ripped off in cryptocurrency scams recently. Two people who I know personally have been ripped off hugely by fast-talking scammers who convinced them to transfer their hard-earned money into a crypto account and then the crypto account vanishes.. Can you spot an investment scam? This is a really good article from the Federal Trade Commission in the USA about how to identify investment scams. Okay, I know that only a small percentage of our readership is based in the United States but this article can be translated into any country because an investment scam is an investment scam in any country.
Malware watch
In a recent blog post, which you can read here, google announced new security and privacy updates coming with Android 15 that focus on combating fraud scams and privacy breaches. In fairness, Google are doing their best to protect you from the millions of cyber threats every day. I would strongly recommend getting Android 15 as soon as it’s released. But also, never just assume that you are safe by using the latest version of Android as holes are found every minute of every day. Keep reading the security tips, and keep scanning with incognito. Invest in a good antivirus/anti-malware solution. Stop, calibrate and check…everything
Business security watch
Here is a fascinating story, about how a a company was hacked after accidentally hiring a North Korean cyber criminal as a remote IT worker. The company, who do not wish to be named, as they are very embarrassed, hired a hacker after the hacker had faked his employment history, and faked his credentials. As soon as he gained access to the network he started copying all of their sensitive information. After he was fired for per performance he then attempted to extort the company by threatening to release their customer information to the public. Please, be extra careful when hiring remote IT staff. When you give someone access to your network they probably have full access so you need to make sure you can trust them. You also, need to make sure that your data, or your customer data is not accessible by remote IT workers. Or via remote workers of any kind. If you need advice about how to properly secure your business let us know.
Data breach watch
Omni Family Health has reported a cyberattack that affected 468,344 individuals. The breach, discovered on August 7, exposed personal data of patients and employees, including names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and medical information. Omni is offering affected individuals 12 months of free credit monitoring and identity protection services. Hello cyber criminals, leave hospitals alone.
General Hygiene Tips
Imagine carrying a written copy of all of your conversations with you everywhere you went. Or carrying a physical copy of all of your account numbers, usernames, passwords, every photograph you’ve ever taken, and every website you’ve ever visited. Imagine, you had all of this in a bag that you brought with you everywhere you go. This is what it’s like having a mobile phone π Everything is on your mobile phone and you need to keep it secure. If you don’t keep it secure somebody will steal the information and they will use it against you. Or, in the worst-case scenario, they will use this information to access your bank accounts and steal everything you own. You are responsible for keeping your digital life secure. Here is a great article on Verizon where they share some simple tips on how to keep your phone safe, whether it’s an Android device or an iOS device.
If you need any advice about securing your digital life, open the incognito app and choose to talk to an expert and one of our experts will help you.
Also, you can join our VIP members-only group where you can have live access to me and her team 24 hours a day seven days a week to answer any security problem you might have, and it will help us as well π
I am sending all the best to you and yours.
Max π