More than 5.3B accounts have been hacked in data breaches, that we know about, and all the information is sitting on the dark web including emails and passwords.
Has your email been exposed?
When we plug in my LPL email (mark.tracy@lpl.com), nothing comes up. But when we enter Ralph’s email (ralph.bender@lpl.com), we see that his email has been exposed in several breaches.
So what?
Well, more than just email addresses get exposed during breaches. For example, usernames, passwords, and other account information may have been exposed as well. Which means if you use the same email/username and password combination on another site then your login information is public knowlege. Or if you use the same password for your email, then they have access to your email which increases their effectiveness in hacking your accounts and scamming your contacts.
Scary right?
A little, but you don’t have to be a tech genius to stay relatively protected. Always, use complex passwords and change them occasionally, especially if they get exposed during a breach. Use unique passwords at least for your most important accounts. Finally, keep your passwords secure. Just doing those few things will make a huge impact for your online security.
For more ideas or details regarding online security, give us a call or ask about it the next time we get together.
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