If you thought the world was a dangerous and scary place right now, let me assure you, the cyber world is even worse.
Just when you felt you were getting a handle on the various threats to your virtual safety - viruses, malware, ransomware, phishing etc. - there seems to be something new (and more sinister) every day.
Based on Norton's threat telemetry from April to June this year, its Consumer Safety Pulse Report shows it warded off 4,851,389 threats in those three months. That's not a global figure - that's just here in little, old New Zealand.
One of the latest trends? Identity theft via social media.
Previously I've alerted you to the exponential rise in fake login pages; threat actors spoofing real sites so convincingly you're fooled into entering your username and password before you even suspect something is amiss.
Now those fun-loving criminals have lifted their game another level. For example, if you were notified you'd been locked out of your social media account due to copyright restrictions, surely you'd follow the helpful instructions to reactivate your online presence, right? In fact, that sounds pretty urgent. You'd better get straight on it.
Before you click that link, enter your details or worst of all, download the essential "recovery tools"... Maybe have a look at some genuine protection from one of the biggest names in cyber security.
I've been using the Norton 360 suite of security tools for a while now and I've never felt more protected. Now Norton has added a comprehensive new feature to that package to provide even more peace-of-mind. The forthcoming Norton 360 Advanced still offers virus, malware, spyware and ransomware protection, a customiseable and fast VPN for online privacy, cloud storage for essential backups and parental controls to protect younger family members but now the "Advanced" icing on the cake is Identity Advisor Plus.
Norton has been in the business of data protection for over four decades - which is a lot longer than I've had any data that needed protecting. In recent years it's become quite the cyber security powerhouse - acquiring other brands like Avira and Germany's BullGuard. Right now, Norton is also in the process of merging with Avast - this means it can add all those technologies to its own to provide a fairly impregnable barrier around its customers' devices, online privacy and now their identities.
In New Zealand we haven't seen quite the same surge of identity theft experienced in a country like the U.S. where so much hinges on an individual's social security number. That's changing quickly though - as I've already quoted from Norton's own Pulse report, the cybercrims have also been busy combining different technologies to create ever more complex and convincing scams and threats.
Just the other day I received a text from the IRD prompting me to respond to a missed communication concerning my tax return. I was busy doing several other things at the time and duly clicked the link to find out how I'd misinterpreted my tax obligations yet again. It wasn't until I landed on my bank's login page I suddenly realised what was happening. Obviously this wasn't my bank's login page and it wasn't a text from the IRD. But that's how quickly you can grant someone in a scam factory on the other side of the world access to your most essential online info.
Now, as a Norton 360 Advanced user, I have access to 24/7 support (with a real person) via phone or chat if I suspect my identity has been flushed down the dark web toilet.
Of course, it may have already happened without me knowing. That's why when you set up your Identity Theft Protection, you add your credit cards, drivers license details, social media accounts and so forth. Then Norton constantly monitors the dark web on your behalf to ensure none of those details have slipped through and are being traded on the black market.
Thankfully, so far the only notifications I've received have been concerning my Twitter account - a bit of welcome over-caution from Norton as it turns out. Most of these red flags start with an email like this...
When I open Norton 360 Advanced and check the details, this is what I get...
Sounds pretty bad; someone has broken into my account and turned me into an international arms dealer? When I inspect the post in question however, it turns out to be a link to one of my reviews. Amazing how many tech gadgets look like weapons. Well, they do to Norton anyway. So that was a relief - both because it showed me the identity monitoring was definitely working and also because I hadn't actually been hacked. I also received this slightly different alert...
Again, just Norton being extra cautious. Someone had commented on my post using :-( to express their dissatisfaction with their internet speeds. Hardly a terrorist threat. Then I got a warning about a potential hacked account communicating with me - following a post I made in 2015. Again, this was just a humorous exchange with a colleague about hacking but you can't say Norton isn't being thorough.
As I've said, if any of these warnings had alerted me to a genuine case of compromised details, I'd then be able to contact Norton for identity restoration support. I'd be assigned my own dedicated specialist who'd walk me through any and all of the steps required to put things right. There's even identity theft insurance included in the 360 Advanced subscription - up to $58k's worth of cover for financial loss and legal fees should things turn really sour.
But I'm confident they won't. My subscription takes care of up to five devices and is currently protecting my phone, my iMac, my Windows laptop and my daughter's MacBook. Norton's various tools keep working quietly away in the background, using a minimal level of my devices' resources while maintaining constant protection - even storing passwords and suggesting new ones as required.
While the Advanced version of Norton 360 is yet to be launched in New Zealand, it's imminent so look out for it. Meanwhile, the rest of Norton's comprehensive protection options are available on the Norton website. Just make sure you go to the real website...
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