Divergys August 2024 Newsletter

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Withtheriseincyber-attacksworldwide, you’velikelyreceivedmorethanone notificationfromacompanyyouwork withinformingyouthatyourdatahas beencompromisedinabreach.While therearestepswecantakeasconsumers toprotectourselves,sometimeswecan’t controlwhenacompanythatpromisedto protectourpersonaldatagetshacked.

In2023,Statistareportedthat52%ofall globalorganizationbreachesinvolved customers’personalidentifiable information(PII),makingyourpersonal data–addresses,numbers,names,birth dates,SSNs,etc.–themostcommonly breachedtypeofdata.Arecent

exampleisChangeHealthcare,breached inFebruaryofthisyear.Duetothe breach,it’sestimatedthatone-thirdof Americans–possiblyincludingyou–hadsensitiveinformationleakedontothe darkweb.

Sonowwhat?Whatdoyoudowhenyou receivealetterinthemailfromyour healthcareproviderorfavoriteretailstore admitting,“Whoops,wegotbreached.” It’smorethanupsettingtothinkthatyour dataisnowinthehandsofcriminals. Whensensitiveinformationleaks,you’ll havetodosomerecontoprotectyour

accountsfromsuspiciousactivity.Follow thesesevenstepstostopthebleedingaftera companyfailstoprotectyourdatafrom beingcompromised.

What To Do After Your Data’s Been Leaked

1. First, make sure the breach is legit.

Oneploythathackersusetogetourdataisto impersonatepopularcompaniesandsendout fakee-mailsorlettersaboutanallegedbreach. Wheneveryougetanotificationlikethis,goto thecompany’swebsiteorcallthecompany directly.DoNOTuseinformationintheletter ore-mailbecauseitcouldbefake.Verifythat thecompanywashackedandwhichofyour datamayhavebeencompromised.Trytogetas muchinformationaspossiblefromthe companyaboutthebreach.Whendidit happen?Wasyourdataactuallyimpacted? Whatsupportisthecompanyofferingits customerstomitigatethebreach?Forexample, somecompaniesofferyearlongfreecredit monitoringoridentityfraudprevention.

2. Figure out what data was stolen.

Afterspeakingdirectlywiththecompany, determinewhatdatawasstolen.Creditcards canbeeasilyreplaced;SocialSecuritynumbers, notsomuch.You’llwanttoknowwhatwas

compromisedsoyoucantakethenecessary stepstomonitororupdatethatinformation.

3. Change passwords and turn on MFA.

Afterabreach,you’llwanttoquicklyupdateto anew,strongpasswordforthebreached accountandanyaccountwiththesamelogin credentials.Additionally,ifyouseeanoptionto logoutalldevicescurrentlyloggedintoyour account,dothat.

Whileyou’redoingthat,makesureyouhave multifactorauthenticationturnedoninyour accountorprivacysettingssothatevenifa hackerhasyourlogin,theycan’taccessyour accountwithoutyourbiometricdataora separatecode.

4. Monitor your accounts.

Evenafterchangingyourpasswords,you shouldkeepacloseeyeonanyaccountslinked tothebreach.Watchoutforanyaccount updatesorpasswordchangesyoudidn’t authorize.Theymaybeasignofidentitytheft. Ifyourcreditcardnumberwasstolen,pay attentiontoyourbankandfinancialaccounts andlookforunusualactivity,suchas unexpectedpurchases.

5. Report it.

Ifyou’renotsureacompanyknowsit’sbeen breachedoryou’veexperiencedfraudduetoa breach,reportittorelevantauthoritieslike

FREE Cyber Security Audit Will Reveal Where

Atnocostorobligation,ourhighlyskilledteamofIT proswillcometoyourofficeandconducta comprehensivecybersecurityaudittouncover loopholesinyourcompany’sITsecurity

Aftertheauditisdone,we’llprepareacustomized “ReportOfFindings”thatwillrevealspecific vulnerabilitiesandprovideaPrioritizedActionPlan forgettingthesesecurityproblemsaddressedfastThis reportandactionplanshouldbearealeye-openerfor you,sincealmostallofthebusinesseswe’vedonethis fordiscovertheyarecompletelyexposedtovarious threatsinanumberofareas.

To Get Started And Claim Your FREE Assessment Now, Visit www.divergys.com/cyber-security-assessment/ or Call Our Office At (713) 574-7338.

locallawenforcementortheFederalTrade Commission.Theycanprovideguidanceand nextstepsonhowtoprotectyouridentity.

6. Be aware of phishing attempts.

Often,afterdataleaks,hackersusethe informationaboutyoutheystoletosendyou phishinge-mailsorcallstotrickyouinto givingawayevenmoresensitiveinformation. Beverywaryofanye-mailsyouweren’t expecting,especiallythosethatrequest personalorfinancialinformation,andavoid clickingonanylinksorattachments.

7. Consider identity theft and data breach protection.

Consideridentitytheftprotectionaftera breach,especiallywhenhighlysensitivedatais stolen,likeyourSSN.It’satime-consuming processtoreplaceaSocialSecuritycard.Inthe meantime,criminalscouldbeusingitto impersonateyou.Identitytheftanddata breachprotectionhelpmonitoryourcreditor otheraccounts,protectyouridentityand notifyyouwhenyourdataappearsonthe darkweb.

Whilecompaniesareresponsiblefor protectingcustomerinformation,breachescan andwillstilloccur.Byfollowingthesteps above,youcanminimizeabreach’simpacton yourlife.Ultimately,wemustallcontributeto protectingourinformationinanincreasingly riskydigitalworld.

CARTOON OF THE MONTH

Earlyinhiscareer,MikeMichalowiczwaseager toannouncetohisteamanewcorporatevision fortheyear:a$10millionrevenuegoal. However,whatheimaginedwouldbeoneofhis greatestvisionarymomentsasaleaderwasoneof hisbiggestmistakes.

Afterrevealingthevisiontohisteam,“itwas totalsilence,”Michalowiczexplainedtoaroom ofbusinessleadersatarecentindustry conference.“Acolleaguecameovertomeand said,‘Mike,ifweachieve$10millioninrevenue, yougetthebiggerhouse.Yougetthenewcar. That’syourvision.Whataboutourvision?’”This wasatransformativelearningmomentfor Michalowicz,whocommittedhimselfto learningwhatittakestobeaGREATleader.

Today,Michalowiczistheauthorofseveral books,including Profit First, Get Different, The Pumpkin Plan andothersmallbusinessmustreads.He’sanentrepreneurandspeakerteaching otherleadershowtobuildandretainunstoppable teamswhocareaboutthecompany’ssuccessas muchasyoudo,soyou’llbehappier,grow fasterandcreateanenvironmentwhere everyoneflourishes.

How To Build An Unstoppable Team

2. Great leadership assembles and unifies. Themovie The Boys in the Boat recountshowan inexperiencedUSrowingteamwongoldinthe 1936Olympics.Theleaderhelpedtheteam connect,communicateandworktogethertowin againstallodds.Hefostereddeeptrustwithinthe team,whichMichalowiczsaysdistinguishesgreat leadershipinanycircumstance.

3. Great leaders follow a FASO model. Michalowicz’sresearchandexperiencein leadershipculminateinafour-partmodelhecalls “FASO.”Leaderswhowanttobegreatcanuse FASOtoassembleanunstoppableteam.

F – “Fit.” Whenhiringanewteammember, theymustbeanidealfitfortheorganization, andtheorganizationmustbeanidealfit forthem.

A – “Ability.” Greatleaderslookfor people’srawpotential.Dotheyhave curiosity,desireandathirstfortherole? That’swhatgreatleadershireandrecruitfor, notsimplyexperienceandinnateability.

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1. Most leaders tell their team what to do. Greatleadersasktheirteamwhattheycoulddo. OneoftheBaltimoreMuseumofArt’smost successfulexhibitswascuratedby17museum guards.Theideacamefromaconversation betweenacuratorandaguardaroundwhatthe guarddidday-to-day.Herevealedhowmuchhe learnedabouttheartfrompatronsandwhat interestedthem.Museumleadersquicklylearned thiswasn’tuniquetotheoneguard,andagroup wasassembledtocreate“GuardingtheArt.” Michalowiczexplainsthatgreatleaders encourageownershipbyasking,“Whatcouldwe do?”ratherthanalwaystellingtheiremployees whattodo.

S – “Safety.” Greatleadersaccountfortheir team’sphysical,relationalandfinancial safety.Theyensurethatpeoplefeelsafein howtheyaretreatedandwheretheywork, theyhaveatransparentfinancialcultureand theyeducatetheirteamonpersonalfinances.

O – “Ownership.” “Whenwe’reforcedto comply,we’llseektodefy,”Michalowicz says.Greatleadersencouragetheirteamto personalize,gainintimateknowledgeofand controlaspectsoftheirwork.

Aboveall,Michalowiczsays,“Noonecareshow youcare;theycareTHATyoucare.”Showyour teamyoucarebyworkingtoincorporatethese greatleadershipapproachesinyourorganization.

“Divergys has taken a tremendous load off our shoulders, allowing us to focus on what truly matters - selling. Their commitment to keeping us updated on systems and equipment has paid off in ways we couldn't have imagined Before partnering with Divergys, we were struggling to manage our IT needs independently, constantly applying Band-Aid solutions. Divergys has been an absolute blessing, ensuring our day-today operations run smoothly without any hiccups If you're looking to boost efficiency in your business and want the peace of mind that comes with expert IT support, Divergys is undoubtedly the way to go.”

CEO - PMI Sales & Marketing, Inc.

Sir Tim Berners-Lee Sir Tim Berners-Lee

DON’T MAKE THIS MISTAKE WITH YOUR HOME’S SMART TECH

Smartdevicesaresopervasivethroughoutour homesthatit’shardtoimaginewhatlifewaslike beforethem.Fromdoorcamsthatshowuswhen ourkidsgethometoAI-powereddevicesthatkeep trackofgrocerylistsandplayourfavoritemusic whilewecook,wetrulylivein“smart”homes.

Butunlikedevicesofthepast,youcan’t“setand forget”smartdevices.Thesetoolsareconnectedto theInternet,wherehackerskeepacloseeyeoutfor unprotecteddevices.Whentheyfindadevicewith aweakpassword,theycanaccessitandcarryout terrifyingcrimeslikewatchingyourfamily throughahomecamera.Beforeyoupluginyour smartdevice,followthesesimplestepstomake sureit’snotanopendoorforpeeringeyes.

Pros And Cons Of Smart Devices

Whenhackersfindanunprotecteddevice–likean indoorcamthatyouneverbotheredtochangethe defaultpasswordto–theycanaccesssensitive informationonyouraccount,includingyour address,birthdate,e-mailaddressandphone number.Criminalsusethisinformationtocreatea profileaboutyouandcarryouttargetedattacks.A familyinMississippievenhadahackertaunttheir youngdaughterthroughtheirRingcamera.

Thankfully,youcantakeafewsimplesecurity stepstoavoidbecomingavictimofyour smartdevice.

3. Enable multifactor authentication (MFA) in security settings. Thisway,userscanonlylogin withasecuritycodeorauthenticatorapp,makingit nearlyimpossibleforhackerstogetin.

By Andrew McAfee

Whenwehaveabigproblem, weliketogotoexpertswho don’tjustlikewhattheydo butaredownrightgeeky aboutit Geeksareknown forbeingintelligentand efficientproblem-solvers,butwhatifwe couldallbenefitfromageekymindset toperformbetterinourworkandlives?

InTheGeekWay:TheRadicalMindset ThatDrivesExtraordinaryResults, AndrewMcAfeeexploresfour“norms”–science,ownership,speedandopenness –thatdefinegeekculture Heexplains thatwhenthesenormsarealigned,it tapsintoourhumansuperpowers:our abilitytocooperateintenselyandlearn quickly Thisbookblendsscience, historyandreal-worldexamplesto provideinsightsintoharnessinggeek cultureforinnovation TheGeekWayisa compellingreadforanyoneinterestedin channelingtheirinnergeektoimprove theirideas,businessorcommunity

Steps To Keep Your Smart Home Safe

1. Change the default login information immediately. Defaultpasswordsarelow-hanging fruitforhackers,sobesuretochangethistoanew, strongerpasswordrightaway.

2. Make sure your WiFi is secure. IfyourWiFi passwordisafewyearsoldoryouusethesame passwordonotheraccounts,changeittoa strongerpassword.

It’sabitembarrassingwhenyoulogintoyour computerat9:00a.m.onlytorealizeyoumissed theall-teamZoommeetingat8:30a.m. Thankfully,GoogleCalendaroffersahelpfulhack: dailyagendas.Withthisfeature,youcansend yourselfadailyagendafirstthinginthemorning soyouknoweverythingplannedfortheday.To setitup,logintoyourGoogleaccountandgoto THEGEEKWAY:

4. Regularly update the device.Updatesfixissues oraddnewfeaturesthatmayimproveyoursecurity. Don’tskiptheseupdates.Ifyoursmartdevice doesn’tupdateautomatically,setareminderinyour phonetocheckforupdatesperiodically.

5. Consider separate networks. ManyWiFi providersofferguestnetworks.Consider connectingsmartdevicestoahomeguestnetwork separatefromtheonethatyourphonesorlaptops areon.Thisway,ifasmartdeviceishacked,it’s notastraightshottodevicesholdingmore valuableinformation.

Thebiggestmistakesmart-deviceusersmakeis thinkingtheycanplugintheirdevicesand walkaway.Thesetipsgoalongwaytoward ensuringthatyourdeviceisn’tanopendoorto creepycriminals.

ARE YOU USING THIS HELPFUL GOOGLE CALENDAR HACK?

Settings.Find“Settings formycalendars”> “Othernotifications”> “Dailyagenda.”The

Thedefaultissetto“None,”soclickonitand changeitto“Email.”Nowyouhaveadailyagenda automaticallysenttoyourinboxbeforeyoueven getoutofbed!