I read Oregon’s Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum’s fraud alert on the Yahoo data breach. Makes me unhappy to read because 500 million users includes lawyers and many friends and family members. Why anyone would use yahoo for email if they are a lawyer is a question for another day. Or not. Please beware that the old adage: there’s no such thing as a free lunch has important lessons. Encrypt, encrypt, encrypt. Or plain avoid using free email platforms for your business. Google has business mail that is different from their free gmail. Your business is your business. But so is your clients’ business so you have an ethical duty to protect your clients’ business. Ok, I am off my soapbox. Here below is AG Rosenblum’s post. Sign up for her alerts here.
Yahoo has confirmed data “associated with at least 500 million user accounts” has been stolen in what may be one of the largest cybersecurity breaches ever. The stolen data may include names, email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, passwords, as well as security questions and answers. “This latest hacking “bombshell” — and the huge number of people affected by it — is a real reminder of something we often don’t take the time to do: We must be vigilant about changing our email passwords regularly! If you use any Yahoo product, you should make sure you change your password immediately, and closely monitor any credit cards associated with your account,” Attorney General Rosenblum said. If you use Yahoo services and have an account with Yahoo, you should do the following as soon as possible:
In addition, Oregonians who have shopped and used a debit or credit card on a Yahoo account, or on a Yahoo web service, should:
If you find unexplained activity on your credit report or if you believe you are a victim of a “phishing” scam, there are important steps you can take to protect yourself. Contact the Attorney General’s consumer hotline at 1-877-877-9392, review the Attorney General’s website – www.oregonconsumer.gov – for information on identity theft, or view the Federal Trade Commission’s identity theft resource, available at www.consumer.gov/idtheft/. copyright September 23, 2016 Sheila Blackford |