Tips on Keeping Your Information Safe and Out of the Hands of Identity Thieves

Personal Identity Theft

It seems like hackers are getting better at stealing your personal information. So how can you outsmart them? One important tip is to constantly change your passwords in order to protect your online security. Do not use the same password for more than one or two sites. If you have several accounts, use different passwords and change them at least once a month, especially for accounts that involve financial and credit card information. Never give your password out to anyone over the phone or via email.

Creating strong passwords are the best defense against identity thieves. Experts advise creating unique passwords and store them in a safe place. Using symbols and numbers or making up words are another way to ensure that your passwords are more difficult to crack. Put a crazy sentence all together like “I like peanut butter better than jelly could be Ilpbbtj and then add a number of symbol.

While it is impossible to ensure that your passwords won’t be stolen, making them more difficult is a step in the right direction. Also, monitor your credit report and financial records on a frequent basis can help minimize the damage if someone does get your password. Companies which store your personal information and passwords are also responsible for securing the information because they use corporate security and/or law enforcement to help keep your information secure.

If you are a victim of identity theft, contact the credit bureaus, your financial institution and law enforcement.

Corporate Intellectual Property Theft

It’s not just individuals that need to be concerned about sensitive information. Corporate intellectual property theft is a big concern for corporations. Competitors, criminals, and others inside and outside the corporation, and even governments who want your intellectual property secrets. Many times victims are not even aware that information has been stolen. Intellectual property theft has serious effects on national industries and even a country’s economic and political environment.

Today many Western governments along with the United States have banded together with an international law enforcement network, although thy have had limited success with ending the problem with China and Russia where much of the intellectual property theft has originated from. Industry must take matters into their own hands as well to secure their computer systems and governments must assist in making sure that the Internet is secure.