If anyone yelled those words at me, I could almost guarantee that I would toss my hands up in the air, surrender, freeze, and slowly back up. Perhaps it’s my catholic upbringing that makes me compliant. Or maybe it’s the veracity of the recent news. Either way, we need to get very serious about backing up our personal information and freezing our credit.
Why another article on cyber security?
On Feb 19th the Federal Bureau of Investigation, issued a serious warning, saying we should back-up now and that we should be doing this – “with the utmost urgency to stay protected!” (1)
“A joint security advisory published Feb.19th by the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, AA25-050A, has warned organizations around the world of a dangerous ransomware group known as Ghost, which is carrying out ongoing attacks targeting multiple industry sectors across more than 70 countries.”
David Winder, Forbes
My goal is not to be an alarmist. I believe our institutions take this stuff very seriously. Even still, I am switching to paper delivery of my financial statements. While a paper statement in a mailbox carries its own risks, I think it’s an easy way to have monthly backups of my finances.
If you are a client and wish to switch to paper statements, please let us know! We will help you make the change.
If you have not frozen your social security number, please freeze it now! Sadly, we hear on a regular basis that our information is being compromised. I also learned that the social security numbers for children are the most valuable for criminals – because people generally don’t check their kids credit scores. We also need to freeze the social security numbers for our children. Once someone compromises your social security number for nefarious behavior, it’s extremely difficult to un-do. I wouldn’t wish this nightmare on anyone.
For instructions on how to freeze your social security number, please re-visit our memo: https://sagepathsolutions.com/2024/11/11/ai-its-all-fun-and-games-till-someone-gets-hacked/.
I appreciated David Winder’s observations:
“ … ignoring other attack methodologies is akin to burying your head in the sand while someone steals your bucket and spade afterward.
So let’s all Back-Up and Freeze! If you need help or have questions, please reach out. We are here to help in any way we can.
Stay safe,
Barbara
Feb 23, 2025
Barbara
Feb 23, 2025
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/daveywinder/2025/02/22/new-fbi-warning-backup-today-as-dangerous-attacks-ongoing/
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