So, in the wake of the recent Equifax breach, during the Month of October we’re trying to raise awareness of security practices, particularly your computing and data security. We’re calling this “Living Securely in a Digital World” and this is Week #1.

Personal data security is a hugely complex topic, so to do this in easily digestible bites we decided to break certain types of security concerns down by weekly themes. This is what we’re working toward:

Week #1: Securely working in your immediate environment

           - This week includes things like OS updates, logins and passwords to your computer, computer use behavior like locking your screen when you leave the room, etc

Week #2: Accessing Internet-based resources securely

          - Next up are things like password managers, 2 Factor Authentication, avoiding suspicious websites, not clicking on links in emails or ads on websites, cloud accounts for storage, etc

Week #3: Data protection, Retention, and Survival

          - Following that are subjects like anti-virus and malware, file backup and retrieval solutions, cloud storage accounts, etc

Week #4: Using resources that aren't yours

          - This last installment will include topics like accessing public wifi, using 3rd party computers like hotel, library, or even your friends and family’s networks and computers.

Now we don’t claim to be security experts so much of this will take the form of shared content in our social media feeds (FaceBook and LinkedIn) from people who are experts in the field. There are a few items we can claim some expertise on because data security is a critical part of the financial services industry and we are required to have certain practices of our own, so we’ll have a few words to share on many of these.

We hope you find this month's initiative worthwhile and if you find any given post informative, please feel free to like and share with your friends and colleagues.