Every year as the weather starts to warm, brooms across the country are prepped for annual spring cleanings. With a majority of folks at home during this unprecedented time, take a moment to clear your browser. What most people don’t realize is that your digital life is vulnerable to clutter, too.

In a study conducted by Risk Based Security, there were over 3,800 publicly disclosed data breaches that exposed 4.1 billion records in the first six months of 2019 alone. In this digital age, spring cleaning should be about more than just purging homes; it should be about cleansing your digital footprint as well to ensure your personal information is organized and safe.

Many people are unaware of the importance of a digital cleanup, while others avoid tidying their cyberspace because they don’t fully comprehend all the harmful effects a disorganized digital presence can have. Cluttered devices and outdated profiles are all signs of a security breach waiting to happen. By following a few easy steps, everyone can take solace in knowing that their digital life is clean, secure and at less risk.

Empty The Trash

An easy first step is to literally take out the trash: Empty your desktop recycling bin. Nothing you delete is permanently gone until you’ve done so. All those old documents, embarrassing photos, and programs you no longer use are still lingering on your hard drive, taking up space and putting you at risk of old files resurfacing. It’s important to remember that once you’ve taken the time to clean out old files and downloads, always trash the trash.

Declutter Mobile Devices

Have you ever downloaded a seemingly “cool” app that you ended up using only once? Make sure you delete all those unused apps that are taking up space on your mobile devices. Most likely you were prompted to provide personal information upon downloading the app, and now that information is sitting on your device, at risk of being compromised. In addition to deleting unused apps, it’s important to make sure that the apps you do use are up to date, as outdated apps are at risk for malware and viruses.

The security settings you agreed to when you set up your Facebook account in 2005 are likely extremely outdated. Take the time to review privacy and security settings on all your social media accounts and online profiles to make sure you are comfortable with how much you are actually sharing and with whom. Having your location services turned on for all your accounts or apps is a decision you may have made years ago, but it may be time to reconsider. Do your acquaintances from college need to see all your family photos? What you’re making for dinner? Consider reviewing your list of friends to make sure everyone still belongs.

Minimize Your Online Accounts

With the rise of e-commerce and online shopping, it’s likely that you’ve ordered items from websites you no longer frequent. Unfortunately, that means that your credit card and other personal information may still be floating around in cyberspace. Make sure you delete any online accounts that you don’t actively use to minimize the odds of having your personal details be part of a data hack. Remove saved personal information in accounts that you don’t use on a regular basis, including credit or debit card details and addresses.

Use Unique Passwords 

While remembering different passwords for a seemingly endless variety of personal or business accounts may feel tedious, it could be what saves you from identity theft. Using the same password for all your accounts makes it easier for hackers to access your personal information and your accounts. Consider using a password manager to store and protect all your unique passwords, and in an effort to keep your accounts even more secure, look into using multifactor authentication (also known as two-step verification) on critical accounts such as your email and banking accounts.

Dispose Of Old Electronics

When you finally get the newest device on the market that you’ve been eyeballing, don’t forget to properly clear out and dispose of your old one. Any device with the ability to store information can retain your data long after you deleted it. This includes mobile phones, copiers, printers, scanners and networking equipment such as Wi-Fi routers. It’s important to thoroughly wipe all electronics by clearing the data or consult with a trusted professional to help you properly and securely dispose of the device.

Tune Up Your Browser

It’s easy to forget about the cookies that store bits of your information within your browser as you surf the web. Moving forward, make a conscious effort to check your browser settings on a regular basis to ensure they’re configured to perform automatic updates. Also, consistently clear out your browsing history, and avoid using autofill to store passwords when possible.

Staying healthy during this time means washing your hands and taking precautions. But staying safe online can be simple when you remember to clean your data as often as you clear out your closet to stay as protected as possible in this digital age!

‘Tis the season for sales! Historically, Black Friday has been the traditional time to grab a bargain during the holiday season, but times change, and technology is transforming our shopping habits. As a result, Cyber Monday, the digital version of Black Friday where you can find the best deals online, has been steadily gaining popularity.

Now, a survey from Deloitte (via CNBC) shows that of those looking for bargains this holiday season, 53% will be looking on Cyber Monday compared to 44% on Black Friday. As Cyber Monday takes over as the most popular shopping day, it’s time to take a step back and think about what that means for our online shopping safety overall.

Everyone knows that security is important when shopping online. However, when bargains are available, it’s easy to get caught up in the moment and forget. Hackers and other online frauds are most active around the holidays. Unless you’re careful, the hunt for savings may cost you more.

There are plenty of things to keep in mind, including being careful, using common sense and avoiding anything that doesn’t feel quite right. However, at this time of year, the scams get creative, so let’s look at the more common ways consumers can be scammed during their search for online bargains.

Scam Watch

There are a number of scams we can fall prey to in the scramble to find a bargain. Always apply the old saying, “If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.” There are great deals to be had during the holiday season, but you should be wary of extreme savings. If that $1,000 TV is selling for $100, there may be something amiss.

Here are some scams that are common all over the holiday period:

• Fake Online Stores: This is unfortunately quite common. In this instance, a fake online store is set up featuring great offers. Behind the scenes, it’s harvesting card numbers and personal details.

• Account Hacking: This can affect both retailers and consumers. Account hacking is when accounts are hacked and orders are made to a different address. The cybercriminal may use fake credit card numbers or, for accounts that store payment details, may even use stolen card details.

• Email Links: Here, fake emails coming from seemingly trusted sites are distributed with links to tempting bargains. When the unknowing consumer clicks through to purchase, they’re sent to a copy site that harvests their details.

• Public Wi-Fi: While it may be tempting to do a bit of online shopping on the go and at the coffee shop, beware. Data is not secure on public Wi-Fi and may be intercepted, making it easier for cybercriminals to steal identities and card numbers.

• Unencrypted Sites: Some legitimate online stores fail to use encryption, leaving the consumer vulnerable. Unencrypted transmissions that store financial and personal details can be intercepted and stolen. In many cases, that’s why the site fails to use encryption in the first place.

• Goods Never Sent: A seemingly legitimate site may simply disappear after a sales scramble is over, meaning the consumer never actually receives their purchased goods.

There are many more scams out there, but most follow the patterns you can see in these examples. Knowing where the risk comes from is one thing, but how can you stay safe and still grab a bargain?

Staying Safe Online

• For Consumers: Around the holiday season especially, but whenever you’re shopping online, always be vigilant. You can limit the risk you are exposed to. Stick to stores you know, and if you find something from an unknown supplier, check out the site. Look for reviews or comments, and make sure the site is secure before making purchases. Check for contact details in case your order doesn’t arrive, and make sure credit card companies support their payment system.

Keeping your accounts secure means being careful. Don’t store passwords on your phone or devices that others can get access to. Use original, strong passwords that won’t be guessed, and check for activity on the account that may show signs of hacking.

During the holiday period, you’ll also be overwhelmed with email offers. Never just click a link. Double-check the sender’s legitimacy, and if in any doubt, visit the site via a bookmark, or enter the address manually. For additional peace of mind, you can also invest in a cybersecurity tool. This will help ensure your identity and your family remain safe from unwanted criminals during what should be the happy holiday season.

Above all, always be aware of what you’re clicking on, entering details in or looking at. It takes seconds to double-check, so always do, and you can have a great holiday.

• For Retailers: Identity fraud is one of the most common issues retailers come across during the holiday season, and it can be difficult to spot. Implementing an email validation for account setup or bank validation for payments can avoid many of the common identity fraud approaches before they cost you money. Delivery is another area where you can take measures. Many fraudsters will be looking to have parcels redirected to new addresses. If the goods are being sent to another city or state from the identity given, it may be something that could be flagged as a warning in the system.

Ensure all your software and systems are up to date to provide the best protection possible, and be aware of the signs of account takeover activity such as multiple failed password entries and the use of several IP addresses when logging in.

Conclusion

While this sounds scary, you can still enjoy shopping during the holiday season and grab those bargains you have been dreaming of. If you take care, double-check that sites and payments are legitimate and follow the advice here, you will have a safe (and successful) holiday.

Read the original article published at Forbes.

160over90 has been selected as AOR for Aura, a company that offers personal identity protection and digital security services including the product Identity Guard.

The agency will be helping Aura with media relations, entertainment PR, influencer marketing, corporate comms, thought leadership and partnerships, according to a 160over90 representative.

Aura began searching for a new agency earlier this year and signed the one-year, six figure agreement with 160over90 in mid-September, said Aura’s chief communications and branding officer Lark-Marie Anton.

Aura started thinking about bringing on an agency once its new brand launched in July, explained Anton.

In January, WC SACD One, a joint venture formed by iSubscribed, WndrCo and General Catalyst, acquired a company called Intersections. Right after that deal closed, according to a company statement, iSubscribed was merged into WC SACD and combined with Intersections. In July, the combined businesses were rebranded as Aura.

“We acquired Identity Guard in early January 2019 and then very quickly decided we were going to make sure we created a brand holistically for all our digital security offerings,” said Anton. “When that was completed and we launched Aura in July, it was beginning to be clear that we wanted to partner with an agency that would allow us to leverage the new brand and allow us to leverage culture and engage consumers in a meaningful way.”

Aura did not conduct a search or issue a formal RFP. Aura executives had existing ties to the agency’s PR and comms leaders, said a 160over90 rep.

iSubscribed engaged Ketchum for two projects between late 2018 and early 2019, the latter of which concluded in March.

“We wish [Aura] continued success,” said a Ketchum representative.

“Our CEO Hari Ravichandran had worked with [Ketchum] during his time with a previous company,” Anton said.

160over90 was chosen because it’s part of holding company Endeavor, which also owns WME, IMG, and organizations like Miss Universe Organization, Ultimate Fighting Championship and the Professional Bull Riders organization, said Anton.

“It was about finding the right partner and [160over90] does have an amazing network,” Anton said. “It’s absolutely the integration of those connections, the ties to things like culture, culinary and music, all of it. Having one holistic agency that has access to all of these different verticals is important for us.”

160over90’s seven-person core team working the account — split between its New York and Los Angeles offices — will be led by Rachel Goldman, a senior account director based in Los Angeles.

Original Article of PR Week – Aura selects 160over90 as AOR

PDF Version of Aura selects 160over90 as AOR

Like any tech industry entrepreneur, I love technology and have since I was just 10 years old. Technology has allowed us to do absolutely incredible things on a global scale and has improved our way of life exponentially on a day-to-day level. Yet with all the benefits a more technology-rich and interconnected life brings, it also exposes us to risk as bad actors increasingly seek to take advantage of that interconnectivity. Every day, consumers benefitting from the increasingly digital world are also the ones who most often fall victim.

In the U.S. alone, 143 million consumers — more than half the adult population that is active online — were victims of cybercrime last year, according to the 2017 Norton Cyber Security Insights Report. U.S. consumers’ losses totaled $19.4 billion, and, on average, each victim lost nearly 20 hours dealing with the fallout.

These alarming stats make one thing clear: Cybersecurity literacy and readiness are lacking when they need to be growing. Unlike big companies with IT departments and resources dedicated to protecting cybersecurity, many consumers aren’t tech savvy and have little understanding of the complex world of cyberattacks, let alone what to do to combat them. To meet and withstand today’s online threats, consumers don’t just need better cybersecurity technology — they need realistic solutions. They need solutions that account for the ways they use their technology — on their computers, their phones and in the interconnected devices all around them. They need solutions that they understand and feel comfortable using. They need solutions that work.

Technology leaders, those of us with the skills and capacity to do something, need to pay more attention to people and how they use technology to design solutions that better confront the human element of cybersecurity. We also need to improve awareness of digital security threats by making technology and cybersecurity literacy easier and more accessible for everyone.

Considering The Human Element

Fraud and cybercrime are extremely common and can take on a wide variety of forms, from obvious scams to sophisticated and highly personalized attacks. Often, the subtle cause behind a security breach is human error (e.g., using a weak password, clicking a suspicious link, failing to download security updates, etc.).

As consumers become more and more comfortable making purchases, paying bills and sharing sensitive personal information online through digital interactions with their health care providers, financial services institutions and government entities, human factors can become serious vulnerabilities. Take passwords, for example. While we know that complex, frequently changed passwords are more secure, the distinctly human tendency to prioritize efficiency and convenience leads many to take shortcuts like using weak passwords because they are easy to remember or applying the same passwords to everything.

Cyberattackers rely heavily on user interaction and normal human behaviors like complacency and a desire for efficiency and convenience. Consumers need solutions that help make it easy for them to be more secure, ones that don’t ignore but rather embrace these human tendencies because security shouldn’t be a burden — it should be built in.

Developing Realistic Solutions

We can’t change human nature, but we can change technology to cut down on the shockingly high number of consumers who fall victim to an attack. All too often, people assume that if they’re using their phones, their desktops at work, the wearable devices on their wrists or their voice-enabled devices on their kitchen countertops that they’re safe. They don’t think twice. We need to design solutions that 1) educate consumers about the threats that exist as they interact with this technology, 2) empower them with the tools they need and 3) make it easy for them to use those tools.

I hate to use a cliché, but knowledge actually is power when it comes to staying safe in our interconnected world. If consumers know about potential threats to unsecured or outdated internet of things devices, understand how malware or ransomware can infiltrate a computer through an unwitting click of a link and have insight into password hacks, they’ll naturally be more equipped to avoid them. Software developers have an opportunity to build education into and around their technology as an extra line of defense.

When it comes to the technology itself, we often jump straight into complex software development without stopping to think about the natural tendencies of the consumers using that tech. Security doesn’t need to be overwhelming and scary. As technology leaders, we have a responsibility to make it much easier for consumers to both understand cybersecurity threats and take steps to make the digital world safer for themselves and their families. That means committing to rethinking and simplifying product design to account for human factors, with more mobile, user-friendly designs, better interfaces and more engaging, accessible content.

The best way for consumers to confront cybersecurity threats and prevent the damage associated with a security breach is to be prepared with the proper knowledge and smart tools.

Click here to read Forbes article.