#1) Super-scale Ransomware Attacks in the U.S. -
Ransomware is the evolution of extortion. It is the hijacking of your digital life. The successor to last year's enormously successful CryptoLocker virus is being developed as we speak, and it will wreak havoc on millions of unsuspecting email users in 2014. If there is one word to know in cyber-risk for 2104, it is ransomware.
Refer to The Democratization of Cyber-Risk in 2104 for more, including a screenshot of the CryptoLocker virus.
#2) Mobile Malware Infections go Viral -
98% of mobile viruses are aimed at Android smartphone devices. If you are on an Android you will either prepare for, or recover from, a virus sometime in 2014. Apple devices are a major target for cyber-crime and are not as immune as they once were. Apple aficionados need to raise the awareness level more than just another notch in order to be informed and protected for the new era of cyber-risk.
#3) Social Media is Used as a Source of Information for Criminals -
Obviously, using social media does nothing to help protect your privacy but in 2014 sophisticated criminals will use FaceBook, LinkedIn and other channels to perpetrate their crimes. They gather passwords, user-names and other sensitive information that will ultimately be used against you in an online attack of some sort or another. Hackers do what the NSA does; they collect enormous amounts of data, as well as information about that data (metadata), and they sort and sift it using big-data software technology. They are relentless, but patient, and when the hackers have enough pieces of information to crack the code on you and a few million other unsuspecting internet users, they go to work with massive campaigns of extortion, fraud, deceit and digital terror.
Unfortunately, in the past, the best outcomes are for those that simply pay the ransom, typically affordable when you need to make a serious problem go away, fast.
2014 is a crucial year for individual users of the internet. The democratization of cyber-risk has suddenly created a massive new target for cyber-criminals and that target includes you, your family and home, and small business. You are viewed as the most vulnerable, unprepared and unsophisticated of their targets, and if they can line up enough of you to be extorted into handing over a few bucks, they can quickly walk away economically satisfied potentially for many years to come.
From here on there are 2 types of users on the internet; Those that prepare and those that recover. It is in fact "when" and not "if" it will happen to you. Accept this, take some action, and avoid what could be a trans-formative event in your life in 2014.
Thanks for reading and let me know if we can help with any of your online safety and privacy needs.
Brad
Total Digital Security for you, your family, home and small business. Protect that which is irreplaceable with plans that start at just $9.95/mo. www.totaldigitalsecurity.com Private, offshore email accounts.
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