Tip - check if your account was in a data breach

This is the fifth in a series of 12 tips to help you improve your online safety.

Data breaches are becoming more and more common

Even if you’re responsible with keeping your information secure, it seems that not every company who has your details is able to hold on to them securely. Deloitte - data was compromised after an intruder

just needed to acquire a single password from an administrator of the firm’s email accounts

Yahoo - all 3 billion Yahoo accounts were compromised in summer 2013. Uber - after a hack of 57 million accounts, they didn’t follow required data breach disclosure regulations

What can I do?

  • Follow the advice in Tip 1 - use a separate password for each account, and turn on 2-step verification where it’s available, as if there is a breach, this will limit the amount of damage.
  • Check if your email address or username is in a list of breached accounts on haveIbeenpwned.com

Notes

This article was originally published on the Online Safety Alliance