Why be a digital sheepdog?

One can’t pick up a newspaper, read a magazine, or go to their favorite news website without hearing, almost weekly, about some data breach.  While attackers do go after the “big fish” (large companies with lots of people’s personal data, credit card information, etc.), they also attack individuals–and this happens much more frequently than we may realize.

When an individual has their identity stolen, money taken from their bank account, has their email account compromised, or their computer infected with ransomware, this rarely (if ever) makes the news.  According to the online privacy company Life Lock, some 60 million Americans have been affected by identity theft.  Reports show that ransomware is the number three most common malware infection and it cost businesses $75 billion in 2018.  Hundreds of thousands of businesses and individuals have their email accounts compromised every year.

We live in a digital age, with millions of devices connected to the Internet.  Computers, smartphones, tablets, even our TV’s, music players, and refrigerators are connected to the Internet. All these digital devices and online accounts pose a significant risk if we don’t take steps to protect ourselves and our loved ones.

This is why everyone should learn to be a digital sheepdog!

My hope is this blog will be informative and help the average, non-technical individual to be smarter about their online activities, smarter about how they protect their home network and connected devices, and smarter about how they keep their digital information safe and secure.