Before Gmail, there was Yahoo Mail, which was, and still is, popular in the Caribbean. With the theft data on over 500 million accounts stolen, we are reminding email users of basic security tips.
Earlier this week, reports emerged that global technology firm, Yahoo Inc. had been hacked and data associated with over 500 million email accounts were stolen. The hacking incident(s) appeared to have occurred several weeks, even months, ago, but is only now being made public. Whilst it is not clear how many subscribers Yahoo has worldwide, nor has any information been disclosed on whether the stolen accounts were limited to specific countries or geographic regions, it would be safe to assume that Caribbean subscribers of Yahoo have been affected.
The Yahoo platform offers a broad range services, including email, news, online mapping, video sharing, to name a few, and it is in the top five most visited websites globally (source: Alexa). Further, the company is in the process of being acquired by Verizon Inc. and from some reports, Verizon may not have been made aware major security breach until just a few days ago. Accordingly, longer term implications of the breach and theft are expected – not just affecting the firm itself, but also to its subscribers.
So many of us would be lost without email access, especially for work. We therefore take it for granted, until something happens, and we are reminded how vulnerable our personal information and private communication truly are. Hence, although we, at ICT Pulse, have done so before, it again is opportune to remind all of us of some basic email security tips – this time from popular computer security software firm, McAfee:
- Obtain comprehensive security software.
- Share your email address with only trusted sources.
- Be careful when opening attachments and downloading files from friends and family or accepting unknown emails.
- Be smart when using Instant Messaging programmes.
- Watch out for phishing scams. (Phishing scams use fraudulent emails and fake Web sites, masquerading as legitimate businesses, to lure unsuspecting users into revealing private account or login information.)
- Use email wisely. (Be careful about what information you submit via email. Never send your credit-card information, Social Security number, or other private information via email.)
- Do not reply to spam email. If you don’t recognize the sender, don’t respond. Even replying to spam mail to unsubscribe could set you up for more spam.
- Create a complex email address.
- Create smart and strong passwords.
- Never enter your personal information into a pop-up screen.
An issue that the Yahoo email incident has emphasised, is the fact that frequently both the firm and the email account holders are blissfully unaware of any security breach, and may only learn of it well after the damage has been done. In being proactive and incorporating the practices suggested above, account holders would be doing their part to minimise their exposure and loss, should their email accounts be compromised.
Image credit: Heartlover1717 (flickr)
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