Cyberattacks are evolving and anyone can be a target, experts warn
Cybersecurity isn’t just for businesses – experts say every consumer should take action to protect their information
(InvestigateTV) — Scams and cyberattacks are getting harder to avoid, and experts say everyone is a target.
“People think, it’s not going to happen to me, they’re not going to target me. They don’t know you, they’re targeting anybody they can,” Melanie McGovern with the Better Business Bureau said.
McGovern sees the patterns firsthand through the BBB Scam Tracker. She warned that no one is immune.
“We’ve all been part of a data breach. You don’t know who has your information. And they’re trying to attack everybody, until they get somebody,” McGovern said.
Younger adults may actually be more vulnerable than older adults.
“What we find in our scam tracker risk report every year is that 18- to 24-year-olds are, in some cases, more vulnerable and losing money to scams than older adults,” McGovern explained. “Because they grew up with it. They’re not used to having to secure things because they’ve always had a cell phone. They’ve always had the internet.”
James Lee, president of the Identity Theft Resource Center, said cybercrime has shifted significantly over the past 20 years.
“When we first started tracking data breaches – now 20 years ago – they were paper. We were talking about loss of paper, paper documents,” Lee said. “Today, the vast majority of data breaches are caused by cyber-attacks. It may be a phishing attack. It may be a malware attack.”
A recent ITRC report found that financial and healthcare companies are among the hardest hit industries.
Lee said businesses need to make cybersecurity training a top priority.
“First and foremost, if you’re a business, make sure that you’re training your teams to be aware of what the latest kind of attacks are. And not just your cyber security team, literally every employee because every employee has access to your system,” he said. “So, train them to know what does a phishing attack look like. What does social engineering look like.”
For everyday consumers, experts recommend staying alert, avoiding reused passwords, and adding extra layers of security to devices.
“And a lot of places, you know, especially with cell phone technology – you can use your face to open up apps. You can use your face to open up your password manager, so, having that extra layer of security on your phone, it’s so important,” McGovern said.
Another piece of advice: be cautious about what you click. Don’t fall for ads or deals on social media that seem too good to be true, and always research companies before sharing your personal information.
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